Attachment
Letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner
for Standards from Councillor Mustafa Kamal
Thank you for your letter of 14 March. You asked
me four questions. I shall deal with them in the same order as
they appear in your letter.
Have I ever made payments to Mr Vaz as a Member
of Parliament?
The answer to this question is yes. After becoming
MP, Mr Vaz around 1987-88 demanded that all elected members from
Leicester east should contribute £2.00 per week to run his
office from 144 Uppingham Road, Leicester. I made out a direct
debit of £8.00 per month, which ran for four years. I was
led to believe that few other elected members, though not all
issued the similar instructions to their Banks or Building Societies.
I am perfectly happy for you to ascertain these facts from my
Bank - - -
Do I know any other people who have made payments?
Yes, about three to four months after the last
general Election, Councillor Piara Singh Clair of - - -
made a passing comment that he had helped Mr Vaz's Election campaign
by making the Sikh Business community to donate £10,000.
Can I suggest other people who might help?
Bipin Jewellers of Melton Road, Leicester who
in Keith's own words donated a car towards his election campaign.
You may like to drop a line similar to the one you sent me to
all the Councillors who represented Leicester east in late 80's
and early 90's.
Do I have any other information?
I suggest a letter from you to the Leicester
East Constituency Labour Party Secretary whose address is as follows:
Mr Thomas moved into 146 Uppingham Road, sometime
in mid-ninety's. A property purchased by Mr Vaz not long after
he bought 144 Uppingham Road. A proposal put to Leicester East
Constituency Labour Party Management Committee by Keith Vaz MP
was that the Secretary receives a salary, a practice unheard of
in the Labour Party. This information may not interest you but
what will cause uneasiness to Mr Thomas is that at that time he
was receiving Housing Benefit and Job Seekers Allowance. Mr Thomas
could have one or the other, he could not have both. It may be
that he was providing a cover.
Club 200
Keith Vaz established Club200 in Leicester East.
The certain Members of the Labour Party in Leicester east subscribed
to it. There was a monthly raffle and the winner received £50.00.
What happened to the rest of the money?
Another point worth mentioning is that the treasurer
of the Constituency, for years was unable to take part in any
of the activities of the Constituency due to illness. The Books
were kept and maintained by Mr Vaz's office.
Financial assistance by the Co-op Party
Co-op Party over the number of years donated
hundreds of pounds to Leicester east; those payments were never
acknowledged or appeared in the annual financial statement of
the Constituency. If I could be of any other assistance, please
do not hesitate to ask.
17 April 2000
| 
