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Labour MP Sir Kevin Barron has stood aside as Commons Standards Committee chairman over allegations he hosted events at Westminster for a drugs firm.

Sir Kevin has referred himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Hudson.

It follows a Daily Telegraph report saying he received fees for sponsoring dinners and a breakfast on the Parliamentary estate.

In a letter to Ms Hudson, he said all the fees were paid to charity.

According to the Commons Code of Conduct, MPs' use of public resources should always be "in support of their parliamentary duties" and should not "confer any undue personal or financial benefit on themselves or anyone else, or confer undue advantage on a political organisation".

in his letter to Ms Hudson, Sir Kevin wrote: "My own understanding is that due to the fact that I made no personal gain and all the fees were paid to a charity, I had not breached the rules on usage of parliamentary facilities for personal or business use.

"It is a matter of record that I followed the rules in registering this interest and that I deposited an agreement for the provision of services, as the rules required.

"In light of the allegations that I may have breached House of Commons code of conduct or rules, I refer myself to you for you to consider whether any breaches of the rules or the code of conduct have taken place."