Britain’s first Muslim MEP to chair European Parliament ethics committee

BRUSSELS (PR):Britain’s first Muslim MEP has been appointed Chairman of the European Parliament watchdog body which has been set up to stop unethical behaviour by MEPs. Conservative Legal Affairs spokesperson Dr Sajjad Karim will lead the European Parliament Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members which is responsible for ensuring all MEPs follow the Code of Conduct which prohibits receiving expensive gifts and forces MEPs to declare any extra payments they receive.

The Code was introduced in January 2012 after an undercover report from the UK’s Sunday Times newspaper alleged that four MEPs accepted cash in exchange for influencing EU legislation.

Dr Karim is the only British MEP to serve on the Advisory Committee and his appointed was made by the European Parliament President.

He said,“It is an honour to chair the Advisory Committee ahead of the European elections in May. Under the guidance of the Code of Conduct, the European Parliament has made great strides in improving transparency and my mission is to continue to provide the greatest level of transparency possible.”

“We need to win back the trust of EU citizens who have been dismayed by some of the scandals in the past and the Advisory Committee and Code of Conduct goes some way in achieving that.”

Dr Karim MEP will chair his first committee meeting in Brussels on 18^th March with five MEPs from across the political spectrum.