Last updated on November 23rd, 2023 at 07:39 pm
Reading Time: 2 minutesThere cannot be a single person here who hasn’t heard the allegations surrounding the alleged activitis of Mr Keith Vaz MP allegedly.
I make no comment on the subject and content of those allegations as it is not within my personal xperience to know whether they are true or not.
HOWEVER
The attitude and behaviour of Mr Vaz since the allegations broke leave something to be desired.
He apparently pitched up for work yesterday and got stuck in, adking questions, as though nothing has happened.
He has referred the matter to his solictor, as it is right to do. He has cmplained vociferously about the actions of the media, but not much that would constitute a denial or rebuttal of the allegations.
I have read varying accounts but as I understand it he initially declined to stand down as Chair of HASC. This is where I find his arrogance comes into play. He is the Chair of a powerful Parliamentary committee, one that holds people to account, and pronounces judgement on ethics, legality and so on and so forth. Be he Guilty or Not Guilty, surely the moral and ethical thing to do would be to stand down, at least temporarily while these allegations are investigated.
I find it incomprehensible that he hasn’t already been suspended from the Labour Party and/or HASC. In his current situation there is no way he would pass vetting for access to confidential and sensitive material. No way at all. Another reason why he should stand down.
As I type I have just seen that he has resigned as Chair of HASC. I think that is the right and proper course of action and the very least he could do, but why did he not do ityesterday?
He is an elected public official. If a Police Officer, of any rank, was similarly accused I would expect that officer to be suspended from duty until the allegations were proven or otherwise. Should the allegations be proven, I would expect Bye Bye, end of career. Why should Mr Vaz not face similar sanctions? It has been said by some senior politicians that is a ‘Private’ matter. I disagree he is/was the Chair of an influential public government committee, often in the public eye. The public are entitled to expect certain standards from such a person, and if those standards are called into question then maybe a spot of Gardening Leave while they are being investigated might be appropriate.
You can try and bluff it out Mr Vaz, and you may well be Not Guilty or you may have been Set Up’ but never ignore the rights, wishes and expectations of the voting public and taxpayers.
A police officer would also be subject to a public flogging…disciplinary…and probably sacked for gross misconduct. Double standards!!!
Mr. Vas has always been rather sanctimonious in his questioning of his “victims” calling for codes of conduct, pointing out that the public has high expectations of it’s public servants. Well guess what they do and rightly so. At this time he should not have stood down he should have been suspended just like any other public servants would be. That is from the HASC and as an MP if these allegations are true then he should be dismissed. He would expect nothing less if this was a
Police Officer. Time he took responsibility for his own actions and lived by the same standards he expects in others!
Absolutely, total hypocrisy and weakness from government
There is no doubt whatsoever that if allegations of this nature had been made about a Police Officer, that Officer WOULD have been suspended immediately. Indeed, Keith Vaz would have been the first to call for said suspension!