Keith Vaz and MP Standards of Behaviour
by cathy fox blog
Keith Vaz is reported to have been put forward for the Justice Committee and to be unopposed, Telegraph [7] Mirror [8] and Mail [3]
See below for links
This is of course soon after his resignation from the Home Affairs Committee Chair. Many thought this was due to the fact that, what looked like conspiring to buy drugs and hiring male prostitutes was at least a powerful conflict of interest with his role. Some may have thought it poor moral and ethical behaviour or even having sinned against his god, his family and his office [4]There is also an outstanding police investigation into that conduct, as well as an investigation into child sexual abuse allegations against him, More Vaz Sleaze and Government Child Sex Abuse Cover ups [6]
Theresa May called him to consider his position as an MP [4] . The Labour Party appear to be approving of Vaz as he reportedly is unopposed for his membership of the Justice Committee.
It appears as though Vaz is treating his resignation from the Home Affairs Commmittee Chair as a cynical short term strategic retreat before diving back into power.
If the powers that be see fit to allow him to be a member of the Justice Committee then Vaz could be exploiting a loophole, the rules are not strict enough or not applied properly. Whichever way, something is rotten and the charade of a democracy that we live in is revealing itself to be rotten from the core.
To victims and survivors it is just business as usual from the power obsessed and abusers. Vaz wants to retain his power as that is the best way to remain out of jail, the stakes are just a bit higher. The power crazed psychopaths that rule this country who turn a blind eye and a deaf ear, and enable abusive behaviour are themselves complicit.
I have not had time to check exactly where the problem arises nor study all the link I have provided, but I have provided them for people to check. I also post the FOI request which lists some behaviour that MPs should keep to. From that response these links are given:
The Code of Conduct together with the Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members is available here [1c] or download in pdf form here [1d]
This 2015 code and previous ones are also available here - House of Commons The Code and Conduct and Guide to Rules [1b]
This page is also worth checking out, as it has the Code of Conduct and Rules of the House [1a] where it also explains that the rules are under a second public consultation which finishes in November, and the links to that public consultation. So there is time to contribute to this consultation.
Relevant it seems are "paragraph 10 of the Code of Conduct sets out the general rule on
dealing with conflicts of interest. Further guidance is contained in
chapter 2 of the Guide to the Rules [1d] . "
"The arrangements for investigating potentially criminal allegations
against MPs are helpfully described in a protocol between the Chair of the
Standards Committee and the Metropolitan Police, which is published as the
Seventh Report of that Committee in 2013-14. You can find it via this
link: [2] "
You could
Contact Andrew Budgen MP and support him in his efforts against Keith Vaz
Contact Keith Vaz and politely express your view
Contact the Labour Party and any Labour MP to tell him of your views and that a candidate from the Labour Party should oppose Vaz's nomination totheJustice Committee
Take part in the second public consultation into the Code and Rules which finishes on 30th November [1a]
Contact your MP and tell him of the conflicts of interest and the disgace it brings onto Parliament
In the FOI VAZ, standards of behaviour, Home Affairs Select Committee, Security Committee [5] I asked
As general points -
What are the standards of behaviour that an MP is bound by and expected to keep?
What are the normal guidelines / rules/ procedures for an MP continuing in a role such as head of a select committee or on a Security Strategy Joint Committee, when there is clear conflict of interest? eg the MP is being investigated by Police for child sexual abuse and his select committee duties cover accountability of the Police and overseeing IICSA, or the individual is a obvious blackmail risk on a security committee?
What are the guidelines/ rules/ procedures for declaring conflicts of interest on HASC and the Security Strategy Joint Committee and where are they published?
What vetting occurs of MPs and officials for the HASC and Security Strategy Joint Committee?
Specifically
When was it known by the speaker and officials of HASC, House of Commons and the Security Stragety Joint Committee that Police were investigating Keith Vaz over child sexual abuse allegations?
Please send me any representations by anyone in 2015 or 2016 regarding the fact that Keith Vaz should not continue as chair of HASC or the Security Strategy Joint Committee?
Is MI5 kept informed by the House of Commons, when police investigate an MP or on any other occasions? If so what type of occasions?
Response
1) What are the standards of behaviour that a MP is bound by and expected
to keep?
This information is held by the House of Commons.
The Code of Conduct sets out the responsibilities that MPs have as Members
of the House and applies to MPs in all aspects of their public life. It
does not seek to regulate what MPs do in their purely private and personal
lives. It is supported by the Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct
of Members. Details are available here:
[1]http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-o....
2) What are the normal guidelines/rules/procedures for a MP continuing in
a role such as head of a select committee or on a Security Strategy Joint
Committee, when there is clear conflict of interest, e.g. the MP is being
investigated by the police for child sexual abuse and his select committee
duties cover accountability of the police and overseeing IICSA, or the
individual is an obvious blackmail risk on a security committee?
This information is not held by the House of Commons.
3) What are the guidelines/rules/procedures for declaring conflicts of
interest on HASC and the Security Strategy Joint Committee and where are
they published?
This information is not held by the House of Commons. There are no
guidelines, rules or procedures relating to these matters specifically for
the Home Affairs Committee or the Security Strategy Joint Committee.
However, paragraph 10 of the Code of Conduct sets out the general rule on
dealing with conflicts of interest. Further guidance is contained in
chapter 2 of the Guide to the Rules. The link to these documents is
supplied above in our answer to question 1.
4) What vetting occurs of MPs and officials for the HASC and Security
Strategy Joint Committee?
This information is not held by the House of Commons. No vetting is
undertaken for Members or officials serving on Committees.
5) When was it known by the speaker and officials of HASC, House of
Commons and the Security Strategy Joint Committee that Police were
investigating Keith Vaz over child sexual abuse allegations?
This information is not held by the House of Commons. The police are not
required to inform the House if they are conducting a criminal
investigation into a Member, unless that Member is subsequently arrested.
The arrangements for investigating potentially criminal allegations
against MPs are helpfully described in a protocol between the Chair of the
Standards Committee and the Metropolitan Police, which is published as the
Seventh Report of that Committee in 2013-14. You can find it via this
link: [2] http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa....
6) Please send me any representations by anyone in 2015 or 2016 regarding
the fact that Keith Vaz should not continue as chair of HASC or the
Security Strategy Joint Committee?
Some information is held by the House of Commons. The House holds
correspondence relevant to your request but this information is withheld
under the following sections of the FOIA: Section 34 (1) (parliamentary privilege)
Some of the information you requested is subject to parliamentary
privilege and therefore exempt from disclosure under section 34(1) of the
FOIA. The exemption applies in order to avoid an infringement of the
privileges of the House of Commons. This is an absolute exemption and the
public interest test does not apply.
Section 40 (2) (personal data)
Some information is exempt by virtue of section 40 (2) of the FOIA (the
exemption for personal data), as disclosure of this information to the
public generally, in the House’s view, would not be consistent with data
protection principles in the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). This is an
absolute exemption and the public interest test does not apply.
Section 41(1) (information provided in confidence)
Section 41(1) provides that information is exempt if it was obtained by a
public authority from any other person and that disclosure to the public
by the public authority holding it would constitute a breach of confidence
actionable by that or any other person.
We consider that unauthorised disclosure of some of the information which
is held would amount to an actionable breach of confidence. Section 41 is
an absolute exemption and therefore not subject to the public interest
balancing test. However a court would be unlikely to uphold a claim for
breach of confidence if the public interest in disclosure outweighed the
public interest in maintaining the confidential status of that
information. Therefore, in practice, an assessment of the public interest
test will still take place.
We have therefore considered the public interest in favour of disclosing
or withholding this information. Where a duty of confidence exists, there
is a strong public interest in favour of maintaining that confidence. We
consider that it is most important for Members of Parliament to be able to
raise issues such as the personal circumstances of themselves or others or
the way in which the House conducts its proceedings with Mr Speaker and
for those issues to be explained and discussed in confidence. We therefore
consider that the public interest in favour of maintaining the confidence
outweighs the general interest in public scrutiny of information held by
the House of Commons.
7) Is MI5 kept informed by the House of Commons, when police investigate
an MP or on any other occasions? If so what type of occasions?
The House neither confirms nor denies whether or not this information is
held. In refusing to confirm or deny this, the House relies on section 23
(5) of the FOIA which covers information relating to bodies dealing with
security matters, and specifically the Security Service (section 23 (3)
(a)). This is an absolute exemption and the public interest test does not
apply.
Please note that victims of abuse may be triggered by reading this information. These links are generally UK based. See below for links:
The Sanctuary for the Abused [A] has advice on how to prevent triggers.
National Association for People Abused in Childhood [B] has a freephone helpline and has links to local support groups.
Other useful sites are One in Four [C]
and Havoca [D].
Useful post on Triggers [E] from SurvivorsJustice [F] blog.
Jim Hoppers pages on Mindfulness [G] and Meditation [H] may be useful.
Hwaairfan blog An Indigenous Australian Approach to Healing Trauma [J]
Survivors UK for victims and survivors of male rape or the sexual abuse of men [K]
Voicing CSA group [L] helps arrange survivors meetings in your area
Links
[1a] Code of Conduct and Rules of the House http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/parliamentary-commissioner-for-standards/code-of-conduct-and-rules-of-the-house/
[1b] House of Commons The Code and Conduct and Guide to Rules http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmcode.htm
[1c] 2015 Apr 4 The Code of Conduct together with the Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmcode/1076/107601.htm
[1d] 2015 Apr 4 The Code of Conduct together with the Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmcode/1076/1076.pdf
[2] Committee on Standards - Seventh Report
The House of Commons Code of Conduct and the Criminal Law http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmstandards/903/90302.htm
[3] 2016 Oct 25 Mail Online No wonder they call him Mr Vazeline! Weeks after being kicked off the Home Affairs committee Keith Vaz puts himself on the JUSTICE committee http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3867996/No-wonder-call-Mr-Vazeline-Weeks-kicked-Home-Affairs-committee-Keith-Vaz-puts-JUSTICE-committee.html
[4] Navhind Times Double Exposure http://epaper.navhindtimes.in/NewsDetail.aspx?storyid=13166&date=2016-09-25&pageid=1
[5] 2016 Sept 5 WhatDoTheyKnow FOI. VAZ, standards of behaviour, Home Affairs Select Committee, Security Committee https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/vaz_standards_of_behaviour_home#incoming-876422
[6] 2016 Sept 4 Cathy Fox Blog More Vaz Sleaze and Government Child Sex Abuse Cover ups https://cathyfox.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/more-vaz-sex-sleaze-and-government-child-sex-abuse-cover-ups/
[7] 2016 Oct 24 Telegraph Keith Vaz set to join the Justice select committee despite stepping down as Home Affairs chair http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/24/keith-vaz-set-to-join-the-justice-select-committee-despite-stepp/
[8] 25 oct 2016 Mirror Shameless Keith Vaz bags himself a place on Parliament's Justice Committee http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/shameless-keith-vaz-bags-himself-9119007
[9] Parliament UK Justice Committee http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/justice-committee/
[10]
[A] Sanctuary for the Abused http://abusesanctuary.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/for-survivors-coping-with-triggers-if.html
[B] NAPAC http://www.napac.org.uk/
[C] One in Four http://www.oneinfour.org.uk/
[D] Havoca http://www.havoca.org/HAVOCA_home.htm
[E] SurvivorsJustice Triggers post http://survivorsjustice.com/2014/02/26/triggers-what-are-they-and-how-do-we-work-through-them/
[F] SurvivorsJustice Blog http://survivorsjustice.com/
[G] Jim Hopper Mindfulness http://www.jimhopper.com/mindfulness/
[H] Jim Hopper Meditation http://www.jimhopper.com/mindfulness/#cultivate
[J] 2016 Jan 5 Hwaairfan blog An Indigenous Australian Approach to Healing Trauma https://hwaairfan.wordpress.com/2016/01/05/an-indigenous-australian-approach-to-healing-trauma/
[K] Survivors UK website for victims and survivors of male rape or the sexual abuse of men https://www.survivorsuk.org/ and twitter https://twitter.com/SurvivorsUK
[L] Voicing CSA website – http://voicingcsa.uk/ helps arrange survivors meetings in your area. Voicing CSA supports the IICSA and VSCP and works to help adult survivors of child sexual abuse find their voice
[M] A Prescription for me blog Various emotional support links https://aprescriptionforme.wordpress.com/help/#emotionalsupport
This is all written in good faith but if there is anything that needs to be corrected please email corrections@cathyfox.33mail.com quoting the article title
If you would like to contact me in confidence, please email confidence@cathyfox.33mail.com
If you would like to contact me about this post, please address it to Vaz2@cathyfox.33mail.com
cathyfox
the truth will out, the truth will shout, the truth will set us free
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” – Edmund Burke
“He who does not bellow the truth when he knows the truth makes himself the accomplice of liars and forgers.” Charles Peguy
To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men – Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Every time we act in the face of fear, we dilute it’s power and increase our confidence – via Gary Havener
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