Labour MP Keith Vaz facing record suspension from Commons for 'willingness to purchase cocaine'
3 min read
Disgraced MP Keith Vaz could face a by-election after the Committee on Standards recommended he be suspended from the Commons for six months for offering to buy cocaine for two male escorts.
The Leicester East MP was forced to step down from his role as Chair of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee in 2016 after the Sunday Mirror obtained a recording of Mr Vaz offering to buy the Class A drug for the two men during a meeting at his London flat.
But a damning report from the Commons watchdog said the Labour MP had shown "disregard for the law" and caused "significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole" for his role in the incident.
A ban of that length would automatically start a so-called recall process against Mr Vaz, which would see him fighting for his seat in a by-election if 10% of his constituents back the petition.
"This is a very serious breach of the Code. We recommend that the House should suspend Mr Vaz from its service for six months," the report said.
"The Committee finds that by expressing willingness to purchase cocaine for another person to use, Mr Vaz showed disregard for the law, and by failing to co-operate fully with the inquiry process, he showed disrespect for the House’s standards system. His actions caused significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole."
And in an extraordinary move, the watchdog also recommended that Mr Vaz be barred from being eligible to apply for a Parliamentary pass should he lose his seat as an MP.
VAZ CLAIMS 'LUDICROUS'
Elsewhere, the report slammed Mr Vaz for failing to cooperate with their investigation, saying the three-year inquiry could have been resolved "long ago" if he hadn't given an "unbelievable" account of the incident, including a refusal to admit the men had visited his flat for sex, and claiming he could have had his drink spiked.
"There was no discussion of the painting and decorating which Mr Vaz says was the reason for the men visiting during the hour-and-a-half they spent at his flat, and he showed prior knowledge of their personal lives. I find Mr Vaz’s explanation for their visit incredible," the report said.
"Mr Vaz has told me that he has never paid for sex. I do not believe that is true. I believe that any reasonable person listening to the unedited audio-recording would conclude that sexual activity took place."
And the report added that further explanations from Mr Vaz that the men were "conmen" or that he suffered "amnesia" over the incidents were "ludicrous" and demonsrated "disrespect for the House's standards system".
It said: "Despite the many pages of material and multiple arguments produced by Mr Vaz, no reasonable person who has listened to the audio-recording of that incident or read the transcript could believe his claim that the purpose of the two men’s visit was to discuss interior decoration.
"Not only was that subject not mentioned at any point in the conversation, but Mr Vaz adopted an assumed name and claimed not to be the owner of the flat but merely the friend of the owner. The supporting evidence from Mr Vaz in defence of the interior decoration claim (for instance, photographs of his main house, not the flat) is unconvincing or irrelevant."
It added: "Mr Vaz’s claims as to the purpose of the encounter are, frankly, ludicrous."
The scathing report will come as a blow to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who will come under pressure to remove the party whip from Mr Vaz just weeks ahead of a likely general election.
Labour has been approached for comment.
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