British Labour MP and former Europe Minister Keith Vaz has come under pressure to resign as Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee over a letter he is alleged to have written to the

High Court on behalf of a lawyer friend, who is a convicted conman suspended from practising law in Britain.

The Daily Mail has exposed that Vaz wrote to the High Court last June on a Home Affairs Select Committee notepaper without the concurrence of other committee members expressing concern over the manner in which his solicitor friend Shahrokh ‘Sean’ Mireskandari’s law firm on the brink of losing its battle with Angel Airlines was being dealt with. He was quoted by the Mail as having said in the letter, "We are deeply concerned about the apparent way in which this ethnic-minority firm of solicitors has been dealt with. We have received a number of complaints from community representative authorities about this matter." He had concluded saying that ‘… it seems appropriate that the hearing should be adjourned pending the conclusion of the OJC’s (Office of Judicial Complaints") investigation.

MP Vaz and his wife Maria Fernandes, a human rights lawyer by profession, are alleged to be beneficiaries of freebies from their lawyer friend.

According to press reports, Virendra Sharma, the Labour MP for Ealing Southall, who was persuaded by Vaz to co-sign the letter to the High Court judge has publicly accused the latter of misleading him over the extent of his friendship with Mireskandari, who has been suspended by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for suspected dishonesty and accounting malpractice.

The Mail has alleged that solicitor Mireskandari showered Vaz with gifts and appreciation and thanks to him the politician enjoyed best seats at the biggest and most glamorous events around London.

MP Vaz is one of the British lawmakers who articulate the LTTE’s voice in the British parliament. Recently, Sri Lankan anti-terror activists protested opposite his office in London and handed over a memorandum to him urging him to desist from supporting terrorism in Sri Lanka. Vaz claimed he had not been fully informed of the Sri Lankan situation.