Keith Vaz has been formally suspended from the House of Commons for a period of one month amid claims that he sought to undermine investigations into his conduct.

The former Europe minister "apologised unreservedly" to the Commons before withdrawing from the chamber. But he repeated his insistence that he had done nothing wrong and broken no rules.

The action was recommended by the standards and privileges committee after an investigation into Vaz's affairs by the Commons commissioner Elizabeth Filkin.

Sir George Young, the chairman of the standards committee, said the MP had been guilty of "obsfucation, prevarication, evasiveness and delay".

He said that Vaz had "wrongfully interfered" with the investigations process.

Sir George said the MP had set the commissioner on a false line of inquiry and sought to "undermine the entire investigations process".

"His strategy appeared to be to throw much mud at the commissioner in the hope that some of it would stick to the committee," he said.

Breach of Rules

Filkin found the former minister had seriously breached the rules on MPs' conduct.

She said he was in contempt of parliament as a result of his actions.The MP was accused of seeking to frustrate a Commons inquiry into his property interests and his links to the millionaire Hinduja brothers.

Whilst an interim inquiry published last year upheld just one complaint against the former minister, the standards watchdog said Vaz had failed to co-operate with investigations into a further eight allegations of wrong-doing.

Disproportionate

The MP said he accepted the outcome of the process although he said the suspension was "disproportionate" to the alleged offences.

Interviewed by the BBC last week, he dismissed calls for his resignation. "Look at the list of people who have been suspended since 1945, including Mr Livingstone who's now the mayor of London and various other luminaries," Vaz said.

The committee said that Vaz had no case to answer over his dealings with the Hindujas, but backed Filkin's claim that he had provided misleading information during the investigation.

"In his response to the investigation of the complaints against him since February 2000, Mr Vaz failed in his duty of accountability under the code of conduct by refusing to submit himself to the scrutiny appropriate to his office as a Member," said the committee's ruling.

Vaz was last year censured by the committee for failing to register payments worth £450 from Sarosh Zaiwalla, a solicitor who he later recommended for an honour.