<p>Keith Vaz, Britain's longest serving Indian-origin MP, was today embroiled in a sex scandal after a newspaper claimed he had paid for male prostitutes.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Labour MP from Leicester since 1987, who is a married father of two, paid for men to visit him one evening last month at a flat he owns in London, the 'Sunday Mirror' claimed.<br /><br />The 59-year-old Goan-origin MP has since announced he will be stepping aside as chair of the influential House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, which he has headed for the past 10 years.<br /><br />"I am genuinely sorry for the hurt and distress that has been caused by my actions, in particular to my wife and children. I will be informing the Committee on Tuesday of my intention to stand aside from chairing the sessions of the Committee with immediate effect," he said in a statement reported by 'Sky News'.<br /><br />It is understood that Vaz has not resigned completely but temporarily as he speaks to his lawyer and other members of the committee.<br /><br />The committee is currently examining prostitution in the UK and had issued a report recently saying that soliciting by sex workers should be decriminalised.<br /><br />Vaz allegedly paid for sex with two male prostitutes and offered to pay for a class A or banned drug, according to the newspaper report, which is accompanied by a video.<br /><br />It is alleged the MP had two meetings with Eastern European origin escorts, including a 90-minute meeting on August 27.<br /><br />One text, reportedly sent by Vaz, said the men should arrive at "11 pm, nice and late".<br />He is said to have added: "I want a good time please."<br /><br />Vaz is accused of asking the young men to bring poppers to the flat, as well as allegedly joking about being a "pimp".<br /><br />As the talk ranged from sex to pets, Vaz eventually said: "We need to get this party started".<br /><br />He also spoke about having had unprotected sex.<br /><br />And ahead of the meeting he had sent a series of texts in which he jokingly called himself one of the men's "pimp" and "bank manager".<br /><br />Vaz paid the escorts in cash, the report claimed.<br /><br />"Money was also paid into a bank account used by one of them by a man linked to a charity set up by the MP," it said.<br /><br />A Labour Party spokesperson said: "Keith Vaz has issued a statement on this matter.<br />"As with all departmental select committees, Keith was elected to the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee by the House of Commons, and his position is a matter for him and the House." <br /></p>
<p>Keith Vaz, Britain's longest serving Indian-origin MP, was today embroiled in a sex scandal after a newspaper claimed he had paid for male prostitutes.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Labour MP from Leicester since 1987, who is a married father of two, paid for men to visit him one evening last month at a flat he owns in London, the 'Sunday Mirror' claimed.<br /><br />The 59-year-old Goan-origin MP has since announced he will be stepping aside as chair of the influential House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, which he has headed for the past 10 years.<br /><br />"I am genuinely sorry for the hurt and distress that has been caused by my actions, in particular to my wife and children. I will be informing the Committee on Tuesday of my intention to stand aside from chairing the sessions of the Committee with immediate effect," he said in a statement reported by 'Sky News'.<br /><br />It is understood that Vaz has not resigned completely but temporarily as he speaks to his lawyer and other members of the committee.<br /><br />The committee is currently examining prostitution in the UK and had issued a report recently saying that soliciting by sex workers should be decriminalised.<br /><br />Vaz allegedly paid for sex with two male prostitutes and offered to pay for a class A or banned drug, according to the newspaper report, which is accompanied by a video.<br /><br />It is alleged the MP had two meetings with Eastern European origin escorts, including a 90-minute meeting on August 27.<br /><br />One text, reportedly sent by Vaz, said the men should arrive at "11 pm, nice and late".<br />He is said to have added: "I want a good time please."<br /><br />Vaz is accused of asking the young men to bring poppers to the flat, as well as allegedly joking about being a "pimp".<br /><br />As the talk ranged from sex to pets, Vaz eventually said: "We need to get this party started".<br /><br />He also spoke about having had unprotected sex.<br /><br />And ahead of the meeting he had sent a series of texts in which he jokingly called himself one of the men's "pimp" and "bank manager".<br /><br />Vaz paid the escorts in cash, the report claimed.<br /><br />"Money was also paid into a bank account used by one of them by a man linked to a charity set up by the MP," it said.<br /><br />A Labour Party spokesperson said: "Keith Vaz has issued a statement on this matter.<br />"As with all departmental select committees, Keith was elected to the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee by the House of Commons, and his position is a matter for him and the House." <br /></p>