Keith Vaz will step aside as Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee over claims in the Sunday Mirror he paid for male escorts.

The married MP for Leicester East, who has two children, paid for two men to visit him at a flat he owns in London - as well as offering to pay for the party drug poppers, according to the paper.

Vaz, 59, has now temporarily stepped aside from the committee, which has previously reviewed the UK's drug and prostitution laws.

Allegations in the paper include Vaz paying for eastern European prostitutes, having unprotected sex, using the name "Jim" as an alias and asking that the "party get started".

The Mirror reported that Vaz had issued a statement saying the allegations had been to his solictor.

In a statement to the Mail on Sunday, he said: "I am genuinely sorry for the hurt and distress that has been caused by my actions, in particular to my wife and children.

"I will be informing the Committee on Tuesday of my intention to stand aside from chairing the sessions of the Committee with immediate effect".

Naz Shah, a member of the Home Affairs Committee, told Sky News Vaz had done the "right thing" by standing aside.

The Labour Party acknowledged that Vaz had issued a statement on the matter.