Vaz under pressure to step down over sex claims ahead of crunch meeting with colleagues

Keith Vaz faces increasing pressure to stand down as chair of the home affairs select committee when he meets colleagues this afternoon.

Some members of the committee believe Vaz will resign from his role today, and the Leicester East MP will be given 24 hours to “reflect on his position” before a vote of no confidence is carried out. The private meeting of committee members will take place at around 2pm.

It follows weekend allegations that Vaz paid prostitutes for sex and offered to cover the cost of illegal drugs for them – although did not plan to take them himself. While it appears he did not commit any crimes if these reports are true, many believe it is inappropriate for him to carry on in his select committee position. The committee has been carrying out a review of laws around vice and drugs and Vaz did not disclose any use of prostitutes.

Vaz feels that he has been the victim of a “sting” and has so far refused to resign. He yesterday appeared in the House of Commons and asked two questions of ministers, in a sign that he intends to carry on with his job as normal. He has also instructed lawyers and accused a Tory MP of “maliciously spreading false and highly defamatory scuttlebutt”.

The home affairs committee will continue to have a Labour chair if Vaz steps down, with Streatham MP Chuka Umunna being tipped as the likeliest replacement. Umunna has said that “we’ve seen one side of a story in Sunday newspapers”, adding that “it’s important we have a conversation with him [Vaz] to hear his side of the story”.

Conservative MPs on the HAC are expected to tell Vaz he should resign, after Theresa May yesterday weighed in on the issue, telling journalists that voters expected to have “confidence” in MPs.

Naz Shah, a Labour member of the committee, reacted to mistaken reports on Sunday that he had already resigned by saying that he had “done the right thing”.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has refused to comment on the story, saying it is a “private” matter for Vaz.

But former London Mayor Ken Livingstone has today weighed in to defend Vaz, saying: “Don’t judge somebody on one mistake they make in their life, or even a couple of mistakes. It’s the total that he’s done for other people, in his own constituency and up and down Britain. He’s always been on the side of justice. And that can’t just be swept away by one mistake that he has made.”