- guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 20 March 2001 01.04 GMT
The intervention came to light during the Commons inquiry into complaints brought against the Europe minister.
Three MPs on the standards and privileges committee were questioning Sarosh Zaiwalla - the City lawyer who was cleared of making large donations to the minister - when he admitted his relations with Mr Vaz were "very cold" following the minister's intervention in a private case involving his firm.
Mr Zaiwalla told MPs under parliamentary privilege: "I had formally complained to the cabinet secretary [Sir Richard Wilson] and the prime minister, because one of my staff took my firm to the employment tribunal under the Sex Discrimination Act because she was not given a training contract.
"At the hearing, surprise, surprise, the minister of the crown, Mr Vaz, gave evidence - his statement was read out - that the individual was a very fit individual and if he was in my place he would have given her a training contract.
"She had come from the lord chancellor's department to join my firm as an eight week contract in the hope that she would get a training contract. She did not get it, so she alleged that I had exercised bias in favour of a male white and she oddly went back to the lord chancellor's department. She was an employee of the lord chancellor's department when Mr Vaz was a minister there."
During the hearing Mr Zaiwala claimed she "boasted that Gary Hart [Lord Irvine's special adviser] is supporting the proceedings against my firm".
Mr Zaiwalla said he lost the case but has won a right to appeal, after getting a judicial review of the finding in which he had argued that the intervention of the lord chancellor's department had interfered with the balance of the case.
He also disclosed that he had discussed the matter with the minister's wife, Maria Fernandes, during an Indo-European Union economic summit in Lisbon - and she told him that the legal assistant did not have Mr Vaz's authority to produce the letter. "This was a serious matter because that meant that the court had been misled," he told MPs.
"After the matter went to the cabinet secretary, Geoffrey Bindman [Mr Vaz's solicitor] wrote to me confirming exactly what Maria had told me: that Mr Vaz had not authorised her to use the copy of the letter for the lord chancellor's file, signed by Mr Vaz."
The lord chancellor's department said it did not want comment on the case and they say the member of staff is no longer employed there.
Last night Francis Maude, the shadow foreign secretary, said: "This curious case once again questions the judgment of Mr Vaz. He is getting involved in a matter which has clearly nothing to do with his ministerial responsibilities. This is another question that Mr Vaz needs to answer."
His colleague, Andrew Lansley, last night wrote to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Elizabeth Filkin, formally complaining that Mrs Vaz had not disclosed his business connections with the Hinduja brothers.
Downing Street continued to defend the minister. A spokesman said: "Keith has made a detailed rebuttal of the allegations as they have come up."
Useful links
Standards and privileges committee report
Parliament information on standards
Committee on standards in public life
Standards and privileges committee
MPs' code of conduct, 1996
