Keith Vaz 'set to quit' as new tapes of male escort encounter released

Some MPs are calling for Mr Vaz to resign as chairman of influential Home Affairs committee

The House of Commons fell silent yesterday when the Labour MP spoke for the first time since the allegations appeared (PA)

The Labour MP Keith Vaz is expected to resign as chairman of the influential Home Affairs select committee when he meets with colleagues later on Tuesday, as fresh details emerge of newspaper allegations that he paid for sex with male prostitutes.

Mr Vaz has publicly apologised to his wife and children for the "hurt and distress" he caused them, and could face a vote of no confidence from the influential committee if he does not resign.

On Monday night the Leicester East MP faced pressure to reconsider his role as an MP altogether, when the Prime Minister was asked about the scandal during a press conference at the G20 summit in China.

Theresa May said “what Keith does is for Keith”, but then added: “But I think overall what people look for is confidence in their politicians.”

And multiple sources say they expect Mr Vaz to announce his resignation later today, with fellow Labour MP Chuka Umunna the favourite to replace him as the select committee chair.

Asked whether he expected Mr Vaz to step down, former Labour minister Ed Balls told ITV1's Good Morning Britain: "I think he will. I think in the end, yes."

According to the Sunday Mirror, Mr Vaz met with the escorts at a flat he owns near his family home in north London last month.

And after a statement was released suggesting Mr Vaz believed he had been set up in a newspaper sting operation, Tuesday’s Mirror carried new details from the alleged encounter alongside footage posted online.

The newspaper argues the video shows Mr Vaz was “in complete control as be ordered the prostitutes what to do”.

It says Mr Vaz ordered the two escorts into sexual positions, dictated what they should do to each other, and said 'good' when told he'd got one drunk.

At the end of the filmed exchange, a voice the Mirror says is Mr Vaz can be heard hinting at plans to meet the escorts again, saying: “Right, OK, I’ll see you soon.”

Earlier, it was also claimed that money was paid into an account used by one of the escorts by a man linked to a charity set up by the MP.

There is no suggestion in the newspaper report that the charity's money was used in the affair.

Andrew Bridgen, the Tory MP, said on Monday evening that he was writing letters to Scotland Yard, the Charity Commission and the Commons' standards watchdog to call for them to investigate the allegations against Mr Vaz.

And there have been suggestions he faces a conflict of interest in his role as chair of the influential committee dealing with matters that include prostitution and drugs policy.

Mr Vaz had a conversation regarding cocaine with one of the escorts, according to the Sunday Mirror, in which the MP said he did not want to use the drug, but indicated that he would pay for it for the other man at a later date.

He also asked the escort to bring the party drug poppers with him for the encounter, according to the report.

The Labour MP Kate Hoey has also suggested it would be in the interests of Mr Vaz and Parliament as a whole for him to leave the committee completely, suggesting a new chair should be named through a vote in the Commons.

But the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, indicated there was no need for Mr Vaz to stand down from the party.

He said: "Well, he hasn't committed any crime that I know of. As far as I'm aware it is a private matter, and I will obviously be talking to Keith.”