Vaz bows to pressure and steps down as Home Office inquisitor

Keith Vaz has resigned as chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, following lurid allegations about his sex life.

Vaz made clear his decision to members of the committee at a meeting this afternoon, and says he came to the conclusion so that “its important work can be conducted without any distractions whatsoever”. In a statement he said he is “genuinely sorry” that recent events mean the work of the Home Affairs Committee (HAC) would be overshadowed if he stayed in post.

He has recommended that Conservative MP Tim Loughton takes over as interim chair, until a new chair is elected alongside committees covering the Brexit, Culture, Media and Sport, and Science and Technology departments.

Asked about the resignation, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn today said that people should “respect” the Leicester East MP’s decision, and confirmed there would be discussions about Vaz’s position on Labour’s NEC in the coming weeks. Although Vaz is supporting Owen Smith in the leadership contest, he voted to put Corbyn on the ballot automatically back in July. Vaz says he has no plans to resign from the party’s ruling body.

Chuka Umunna, who has been tipped as next chair of the prestigious committee, said that Vaz had done a “fine job” in the role, but that he “has made the right decision”.

“Keith has done a fine job chairing our committee for almost a decade, a view widely shared across the House,” Umunna said. “I am very sad to see Keith step down but believe he has made the right decision by Parliament and those we serve. It is incredibly important the Committee carries on the important work we are doing scrutinising Government.”