LONDON: A senior British lawmaker resigned from his position as head of an influential parliamentary committee on Tuesday after becoming embroiled in a scandal involving drugs and male prostitutes.
Keith Vaz from the opposition Labour Party, a married father of two and one of the first British Asian ministers, was recorded paying two escorts for their services, according to a report in the Sunday Mirror.
“Those who hold others to account must themselves be accountable,” Vaz said in a statement.
He said he was stepping down to allow the committee’s “important work” to be carried out “without any distractions whatsoever.”
“I am genuinely sorry that recent events make it impossible for this to happen if I remain chair,” he said.
Vaz, a 59-year-old former Europe minister under ex-premier Tony Blair, chairs a powerful home affairs parliamentary committee, which conducts probes into immigration, drugs policies and sex workers.
The story, recounted in lurid detail typical of Britain’s aggressive tabloid press, has provoked a debate about whether the newspaper intruded unfairly into Vaz’s private life.
The Sunday Mirror has justified its reporting on the basis that there is a public interest in exposing Vaz given his role in scrutinizing legislation on sex workers and drugs.
In a statement to the Mail on Sunday, Vaz attacked the journalists while adding: “I am genuinely sorry for the hurt and distress that has been caused by my actions.”
Vaz was filmed and recorded meeting the escorts at a flat he owns near his home in north London last month, according to the report.
In one conversation with an escort published in the tabloid and its sister publication the Daily Mirror, Vaz reportedly offered to buy cocaine for a later date, although he said he would not take any himself.
He also asked an escort to bring the party drug poppers with him for their encounter. Vaz has previously said in Parliament that he would vote to ban poppers if the drug was proved to be harmful.
Vaz, who was born in Yemen to parents from the Indian state of Goa, was first elected to parliament in 1987 for Leicester East in central England.
British MP resigns over scandal
British MP resigns over scandal
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
