Vaz resigned on health grounds: Govt.

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JUNE 12. Mr. Keith Vaz was not sacked from the Government but resigned on health grounds, it was officially stated in what was seen as an attempt to put a gloss on the controversial Minister's exit.

The manner of his departure was in line with what the commentators had been saying - that the official line would be to refute the suggestion that it had anything to do with the embarrassing political controversies that have dogged him for months. Downing Street said Mr. Vaz, who was Minister for Europe, wrote to the Prime Minister Mr. Tony Blair on Sunday wishing to step down but it was not explained why the announcement was held back to coincide with Monday's reshuffle in which as many as 18 junior Ministers lost their jobs. The confusion whether Mr. Vaz quit of his own accord or was removed could have been avoided if his ``resignation'' had been announced earlier in the day when speculation was rife that he was to be dropped.

The Prime Minister's office released a letter in which Mr. Blair appreciated Mr. Vaz's reasons for ``standing down'' and thanked him for his ``hard work'' as Minister. ``You have been put under intolerable pressure recently which can only have aggravated your illness. I hope you will now have the chance for a proper rest,'' the letter said. However, long before Mr. Vaz's departure was announced, the BBC had declared him ``politically dead'' saying that ``not a soul'' in Whitehall expected him to stay on.

Mr. Vaz, who was admitted to hospital on Sunday following an infection, was discharged on Monday afternoon, shortly before the reshuffle was announced. He was replaced by Mr. Peter Hain, a former Foreign Office Minister who had been moved to the Department of Trade and Industry a few months ago. Observers maintained that Mr. Vaz would have been sacked if he had not resigned. It was also suggested that he had perhaps been persuaded to resign to save himself the embarrassment of being dropped and to make it appear that the Prime Minister continued to have trust in him. His exit did not, however, end speculation and while one newspaper quoted his ``friends in the Indian community'' as advising him not to ``prematurely attempt a comeback'' another said the controversy over his conduct as M.P. would continue as he faced a fresh inquiry into allegations relating to his properties.

For months, Mr. Vaz has been at the centre of a series of embarrassing episodes largely relating to his business links and the parliamentary standards commissioner, Ms. Elizabeth Filkin's charge that he did not co-operate with her in her inquiry into his affairs. Though he was cleared for his role in the Hindujas' passport affair, there have been other ``disclosures'' regarding his business deals. The latest allegation is over the properties he owns. Mr. Vaz has denied the charges, and the Prime Minister consistently backed him describing him as a victim of a media witchhunt.

Another Minister who was involved in the Hindujas' passport row and is now out of the Government is Mr. Mike O'Brien. He was sacked on Monday in what The Times described as the most ``savage'' reshuffle since 1962 when Harold Macmillan got rid of one-third of his Cabinet on the ``night of the long knives''. Mr. O'Brien was a Home Office Minister when Mr. Peter Mandelson and Mr. Vaz spoke to him about Mr. S. P. Hinduja's passport application.

Even as he wielded the axe, the Prime Minister also handed out a pay rise to his Ministers and raised his own salary by œ47,000 a year provoking a sharp reaction with unions accusing him of following double standards. ``It is obviously one rule for politicians and another for teachers and nurses,'' the spokesman of a teachers' union said.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Kyoto Treaty flawed: Bush
Next     : Pak. Govt. asks SC to suspend verdict on
           interest-free economy