Keith Vaz quits as Commons Home Affairs Select Committee chairman

credit - Parliament TV

Senior Labour MP Keith Vaz has confirmed that he is stepping down as chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee following media reports about his private life.

Vaz said he had informed the committee of his intention, saying it was "my decision, and mine alone".

He said his "first consideration has been the effect of recent events on my family" and recommended that Conservative MP Tim Loughton be interim chairman.

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A media report claimed that Vaz met with escorts on two occasions at a flat he owns near his main London home and offered to cover the cost of class A drugs.

However, in a statement, Vaz said: “It is in the best interest of the Home Affairs Select Committee that its important work can be conducted without any distractions whatsoever.

“I am genuinely sorry that recent events make it impossible for this to happen if I remain chair.

“I have always been passionate about Select Committees, having served as either chair or member for half of my time in parliament.

“The integrity of the select committee system matters to me.

“Those who hold others to account, must themselves be accountable."

Vaz added he was "immeasurably proud" of the committee's work over the past nine years and was "privileged" to have been its "longest serving chair".