LONDON (AP) — A powerful Labour Party lawmaker has stepped down as the chair of the U.K. Home Affairs Select Committee following a sex scandal.

Keith Vaz was under pressure to resign after a Daily Mirror story involving male escorts. He says that the reports made it impossible for the work of the committee to take place without distraction.

Vaz says in a statement Tuesday that "those who hold others to account must themselves be accountable."

The long-serving lawmaker was one of the most influential members of the House of Commons through his work on a committee that deals with law and order issues.

Some reports suggested he faced a no-confidence vote from the Conservative Party members of the committee had he not stepped down.