Ex-MP Keith Vaz rules out Parliament comeback saying ‘that ship has sailed’

Disgraced ex-Labour MP Keith Vaz has ruled out a comeback, standing again in his old Leicester East constituency.

It follows speculation Mr Vaz could be eyeing up a return to Parliament, after the conviction of the seat’s current MP, Claudia Webbe, for harassment.

“That ship has sailed,” he told The Guardian.

Mr Vaz did not contest the 2019 general election, stepping down after 32 years as an MP.

It came just weeks after the Commons Standards Committee recommended he should be handed a six-month suspension for causing “significant damage” to the reputation of the House.

Mr Vaz was found to have expressed a willingness to purchase cocaine for others during an encounter with male prostitutes.

In a message to The Guardian, the former chairman of the home affairs select committee denied any suggestion he would stand again in the seat, where he is said to retain support in certain quarters.

He told the newspaper in a text message: “I am glad to say that ship has sailed – a few years ago.”

The paper reports that Labour last week introduced rules over the city’s constituencies, giving the party’s national body the power to choose council candidates rather than seeing the decision left to local members.