Inquiries not completed
505. In relation to the following complaints
(again using the formulation adopted in the introduction to this
memorandum), I have so far been unable to complete my inquiries
satisfactorily:
Alleged failure to register payments and other
benefits in the Register of Members' Interests
1. That Councillor Mustapha Kamal, of
Leicester City Council, made payments to Mr Vaz of £8 per
month for four years from around 1987/88 and that he believed
that other Labour members of Leicester City Council also made
such payments at the request of Mr Vaz.
2. That Mr Bakshish Attwal, a Leicester
businessman, provided Mr Vaz with cheques made out to Mr Vaz prior
to 1997.
Alleged failure to account for funds (in breach
of Code of Conduct)
3. Since the accounts for a constituency
party fund-raising club, established by Mr Vaz as Member of Parliament,
were not made available to subscribers, contrary to the requirements
of the Code of Conduct for openness and accountability, they were
not able to assess whether the money had been spent for proper
purposes when it appeared that the funds collected were in excess
of those distributed.
Alleged soliciting and receipt of payments
for help with planning permission or site acquisition in Leicester
(in breach of Code of conduct) and failure to register payments
received
4. That in 1991/92 Mr Vaz offered, in
return for £500, to help Mr Jaffer Kapasi, a businessman
in Leicester, obtain planning permission or land acquisition decisions
for a mosque.
5. That between 1992 and 1996 Mr Vaz received
3 payments from Mr Kapasi in respect of decisions on land acquisition
for a religious building.
6. That Mr Vaz solicited £500 from each
of three religious groups which were seeking to purchase land
at discounted prices from Leicester City Council.
Alleged failure to register property under
Category 9 of the Register[211]
7. That Mr Vaz failed to register one
of the two properties he owns in Leicester.
Mapesbury Communications
8. That Mr Vaz may have used revenue from
Mapesbury Communications Ltd to support his Parliamentary office
without disclosing the sources of the company's income.[212]
Summary of recommendations
for further action by the Committee
506. In order to complete my inquiry and to ensure
that the Committee has all the information it needs to reach a
judgment on the complaints, I recommend that the Committee take
oral evidence on oath from:
Mr Sarosh Zaiwalla
Mr Brian Brown
Mr Jaffer Kapasi
Sir Peter Soulsby
Mr Mustapha Kamal
Mr Bakshish Attwal
Councillor John Thomas.
507. On the same basis, I also recommend that,
in order to establish the facts, the Committee take steps to obtain
the relevant documentary information from: Mr Kapasi; the Dawoodi
Community; the Labour Party; Mapesbury Communications; and Mr
Vaz.
508. In addition, the Committee will no doubt
wish to hear Mr Vaz in person.
509. In view of their role in gathering the information
upon which some of the complaints are based, the Committee may
also wish to consider taking evidence from the relevant journalists,
that is to say:
Mr Rajeev Syal and Mr Chris Hastings (Sunday
Telegraph)
Mr David Leppard and Mr Gareth Walsh (Sunday Times).
17 January 2001
Elizabeth Filkin
208 Councillor Thomas's letter of 24 March 2000 was
mentioned in, but not attached to, a letter from Bindmans dated
5 July 2000. Back
209
See paragraph 17. Back
210
See paragraphs 431 and 432. Back
211
This allegation did not form part of the original list of complaints
set out at paragraph 17. Back
212
This allegation did not form part of the original list of complaints
set out at paragraph 17. Back
