The former Europe minister, Keith Vaz, is facing a one-month suspension from the House of Commons.

The action has been recommended by the standards and privileges committee after an investigation into his affairs by the Commons commissioner Elizabeth Filkin.

Filkin found the former minister had seriously breached the rules on MPs' conduct and said he was in contempt of parliament.

The Leicester East MP stands 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.

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, 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.