Annex iii9
File note by the Parliamentary Commissioner
for Standards
KEITH
VAZ
19 OCTOBER
2001
TELEPHONE
CONVERSATION
WITH
MR
ARTHUR
PRICE-JONES,
FORMERLY
TOWN
CLERK,
LEICESTER
CITY
COUNCIL
I telephoned Mr Price-Jones on the advice of the
Chief Executive of Leicester City Council, Mr Rodney Green. He
informed me that Mr Vaz had been originally employed by a law
centre called High Fields which had been funded directly by Leicester
City Council. There was a considerable row about the management
of the funds in the law centre and the city had insisted on setting
up a company to manage the finances of the law centre. From that
date Mr Vaz himself would have been paid by the company. The company
operated with a grant from the city supplemented by legal aid
work.
Mr Arthur Price-Jones was the Company Secretary and
the bookkeeping was done by an officer from the Treasurer's Department.
The company was wound up sometime after Mr Vaz was elected in
1987.
I explained to Mr Arthur Price-Jones that I was investigating
a complaint that Mr Vaz had continued his employment with the
law centre after his election as a Member of Parliament and that
he has not registered that source of income.
Mr Price-Jones said he was not surprised about this
complaint because for several months after his election much to
the "irritation" of the City Council Mr Vaz did not
resign his post at the law centre. He said that from memory this
was 4-6 months after the election but there would be company records
in the city's archive. He would contact his former PA who well
might be able to locate them and he would then come back to me.
I thanked him for his assistance once again.
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