The Standards Committee has published its report on the behaviour of Keith Vaz, declaring that he breached the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament. The investigation was sparked by a formal complaint submitted by Andrew Bridgen MP. Three years, two standards commissioners, a new office, and almost two elections later, they have just concluded:
“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 claims Vaz’s defence(s) consisted of:
- He has argued that the audio-recording and transcript are not to be relied upon.
- He has asserted that the purpose of his encounter with the two men was not to engage in paid-for sex but to discuss the interior decoration of his flat.
- He has implied that because the encounter was a newspaper ‘sting’ operation, the two men ‘steered’ the conversation with Mr Vaz in ways which give a misleading impression.
- He has declined to comment on details of his encounter with the two men on grounds of the medical condition of amnesia
However, the report found that “It is difficult, to put it mildly, to see how all these separate defences could simultaneously be true. My predecessor did not accept, and nor do I, Mr Vaz’s explanation that the men concerned had come, at 11.30pm on a Saturday evening in connection with plans to decorate his flat.”
It was alleged the MP had met two men at his London flat to engage in paid-for sex, and that during this encounter – which was covertly recorded by one of the men – he offered to buy illegal drugs for a third person to use.
At the time, Mr Vaz said he had met the men to discuss the redecoration of his flat.
But the cross-party committee said Mr Vaz’s characterisation of the meeting – in which he reportedly posed as a washing machine salesman – was “not believable and ludicrous”.
The MP’s claim during the inquiry that his drink may have been spiked and that he had since suffered memory loss about the incident were “not relevant”, the report found.
The MP’s conduct in relation to illegal drugs and his behaviour during the investigation caused “significant damage” to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons, it said,
He had “failed repeatedly to answer direct questions, gave incomplete answers and an account that was, in parts, incredible” – actions which constituted a “very serious” breach of the MPs’ code of conduct.
The committee said its aim throughout was “to establish whether the rules of the House have been complied with, not to investigate Mr Vaz’s private life or to pass judgement on issues of sexual morality”.
Vaz who says he is a committed Muslim was a former Europe minister under Tony Blair and was suspended from the Commons for one month in 2002 after being found to have obstructed a standards watchdog’s investigation into his financial affairs.
The committee said it had taken this into account in recommending the longer suspension, as well as the fact that as chair of the Home Affairs committee there was an extra onus on Mr Vaz to set a “good example” to other MPs.
A spokesman for Mr Vaz said he had been treated for a serious mental health condition “for the last three years as a result of the events of 27th August 2016”.
“He has shared all the medical reports in confidence with the committee. He has nothing further to say on this matter other than what was said in his oral and written statements to the committee and to the commissioner.”
The police refused to take action against the MP following an investigation in 2016.
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