Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Keith Vaz's private life probe suspended for medical reasons

A parliamentary investigation into allegations surrounding the private life of Britain's longest-serving British Asian MP Keith Vaz has been "suspended for medical reasons", a report said.

The 61-year-old Labour party MP was hit by newspaper allegations last year that he had paid male escorts.


The Goan-origin politician had issued a public apology to his wife and children at the time and stepped down as the head of the influential House of Commons' Home Affairs Committee.

The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Kathryn Hudson had opened an investigation to determine whether Vaz was guilty of a conflict of interest, as he was chair of the Home Affairs Committee's review of vice laws at the time of the allegations.

The suspension of the investigation was revealed on the Parliament website, without any further details.

"Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP - Alleged breach of paragraphs 10 and 16 of the Code of Conduct - suspended for medical reasons," the website notes.

The watchdog's probe under the parliamentary Code of Conduct also covers whether the former minister caused "significant damage" to the reputation of Parliament.

In December 2016, Scotland Yard had dropped an investigation into Vaz over alleged drug offences linked with the newspaper revelations around male escorts.

"During the investigation, new information was received and additional advice obtained from the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service], following which the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] has made the decision to close the investigation with no person being charged," the Met Police had said in a statement.

A Sunday Mirror article on September 4, 2016, had claimed Vaz had been secretly recorded offering to pay for cocaine, a banned drug, if it was brought to a future meeting, though he stressed that he did not want any himself.

He was also accused of encouraging others to use poppers, an illegal party drug.

Vaz has since returned to active political life, and was re-elected to one of the Labour party's key executive bodies. the National Executive Committee (NEC). as its Black Asian and Ethnic Minority (BAME) representative in August this year.

"I am looking forward to continuing the vital work that I have been carrying out in the position for the last decade," said the Labour MP from Leicester East.

The National Executive Committee is the governing body and administrative authority of the Labour Party that oversees the overall direction of the party and the policy-making process.

More For You

Sara Sharif e1692881096452

Sara was discovered dead in her bunkbed on 10 August 2023.

Sara was discovered dead in her bunkbed on 10 August 2023.

'Chatterbox with biggest smile': Headteacher pays tribute to Sara Sharif

SARA SHARIF, a ten-year-old girl who suffered fatal abuse at the hands of her father and stepmother, is being remembered as a cheerful and caring pupil with a love for singing.

Her father, Urfan Sharif, 42, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, were found guilty on 11 December of her murder at their home in Woking, Surrey, on 8 August 2023. Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child.

Keep ReadingShow less
Healthcare workers hold placards as they demonstrate on Westminster Bridge, near to St Thomas' Hospital in London on May 1, 2023. (Photo: Getty Images)
Healthcare workers hold placards as they demonstrate on Westminster Bridge, near to St Thomas' Hospital in London on May 1, 2023. (Photo: Getty Images)

Teachers, nurses warn of strikes over 2.8 per cent pay rise proposal

TEACHERS and nurses may strike after the government recommended a 2.8 per cent pay rise for public sector workers for the next financial year.

Ministers cautioned that higher pay awards would require cuts in Whitehall budgets.

Keep ReadingShow less
A man walks past a mural that says ‘Northern Ireland’, on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 11, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
A man walks past a mural that says ‘Northern Ireland’, on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 11, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)

Northern Ireland approves extension of post-Brexit trade rules

NORTHERN Ireland’s devolved government has voted to continue implementing post-Brexit trading arrangements under the Windsor Framework, a deal signed between London and the European Union in February 2023.

The vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont extended the arrangement for four years.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Covid bereavement rates in Scotland highest among Asians'
Ethnic groups were found to be two-and-a-half times more likely to have experienced the loss of a close family member.

'Covid bereavement rates in Scotland highest among Asians'

THE bereavement rates due to Covid in Scotland have been highest among those identifying with ‘Any other’ ethnic group (68 per cent), followed by Indians (44 per cent) and Pakistanis (38 per cent), a new study revealed. This is significantly higher than the national average of around 25 per cent.

Ethnic groups were found to be two-and-a-half times more likely to have experienced the loss of a close family member during the Covid crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Harmeet Dhillon gives a benediction at the end of the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,  on July 15, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
Harmeet Dhillon gives a benediction at the end of the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump nominates Harmeet Dhillon for top Department of Justice role

US PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American attorney Harmeet K Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice.

“I am pleased to nominate Harmeet K Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the US Department of Justice,” Trump announced on Monday on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Keep ReadingShow less