Under-fire MP Keith Vaz STILL tries to stick it out as calls mount for him to step down
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says he needs to look at the allegations before deciding what to do about the disgraced politician
DISGRACED MP Keith Vaz was the butt of the jokes at last night’s GQ Awards as calls mount for him to quit politics.
Comedian David Walliams took a direct swipe at Vaz while presenting the best TV personality award.
He said the Leicester East MP was one of the people to be nominated – following the extensive coverage of the rent boy scandal.
An online petition for Mr Vaz to stand down is growing in support.
And membership of the Facebook group P45 for Keith Vaz has shot up since the scandal broke on Sunday with constituents posting about why they do not want him to be their MP.
There is also talk from some social media users about starting a petition to get him banned from the ground of his beloved Leicester City FC.
Despite this the Labour veteran has vowed to stay on as an MP.
Yesterday Mr Vaz issued a grovelling statement saying he would be resigning as chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee that probes vice, prostitution and drug issues.
The move came 48 hours after claims that he met two male escorts at his London flat and offered to cover the cost of buying cocaine.
But he has sparked uproar by trying to keep his political career alive following claims he paid for sex with male prostitutes.
In his statement, Mr Vaz said: “Those who hold others to account must themselves be accountable.”
He added: “This is my decision and mine alone and my first consideration has been the effect of recent events on my family.”
But in private, he told committee colleagues yesterday that the claims were “nonsense”.
One stunned MP said: “He was acting like nothing had happened. He was very jolly and laughing.
“He arrived with huge bouquets of flowers for the committee clerks.
“He kept saying ‘Most of these allegations are completely untrue’.”
Furious Tories reacted with astonishment to Mr Vaz’s intention to stay on as an MP and retain his seat on the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy.
The committee scrutinises Government policy on safeguarding the nation, contingency risks and the work of security advisers.
One senior Tory told The Sun: “If he was compromised on the Home Affairs committee, how can he be trusted on national security issues?”
Mr Vaz — who appeared with his wife Maria on Monday — also insisted he would be staying on Labour’s National Executive Committee.
Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said yesterday: “Whatever comes out of this will be a matter for him and others not me.”
He later added that he needed to “look at the allegations”.
Leftie ex-London mayor Ken Livingstone defended Mr Vaz by saying “everyone makes mistakes”.
The Sun revealed on Monday how the Charity Commission was set to probe his alleged payments to the two escorts.
On Monday we separately revealed snaps showing Mr Vaz caught on CCTV meeting a young man at a Mayfair hotel two years ago.