Police documents show that in 1997 £136,566 was paid in and £130,427 taken out of an HSBC account; rising in 1998 to £187,103 paid in, including nearly £29,000 in cash, and £191,999 taken out. The following year, £120,394 was deposited and £123,991 withdrawn. In 2000, when the first parliamentary investigation into Mr Vaz’s conduct began, the deposits fell to £8,410. The police report stated that another account was used for salary payments. It concluded: “There are numerous unexplained payments into the accounts and large transfers between accounts that require further investigation.”

Vaz told The Telegraph that he “had never banked with HSBC”. Yet in his parliamentary expenses files, Vaz refunded money to parliament using a cheque from an account held at First Direct, which is part of HSBC. Vaz is as slippery as they come. He should be required by the Standards Commissioner to explain the source of these funds.