Halla-aho’s removal was demanded by Social Democrat party secretary Mikael Jungner, who had told the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat that Halla-aho’s position would be discussed at the SDP’s summer conference.

Jungner told YLE on Monday that some of Halla-aho’s comments on Facebook criticising multiculturalism, made after the killings in Norway, were not appropriate for a committee chair.

YLE contacted 12 of the 16 members of the committee. None of them thought that changing the chair was necessary, and most doubted that it would even be possible.

According to the committee’s members, places on committees are divided based on relative strength of numbers among the parties. The chair position is an internal matter for the party to which it is allocated.

Supported by his party

Some of the committee members pointed out that the chairmanship of the committee is not dependent on the values and opinions of the holder of the post, or on the confidence other committee members might or might no have in them.

Some also said that the committee meets so rarely that they have not yet formed an opinion on Halla-aho’s handling of his duties.

Ilta-Sanomat reported at the weekend that Jungner had said the matter would be discussed at the SDP’s summer conference in mid-August. The Swedish People's party, the Christian Democrats, the Green League and the Left Alliance will all also consider Halla-aho's suitability for his role at their summer conferences. Halla-aho has said that he is not planning to stand aside.

The True Finns parliamentary group chair Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner told YLE that the party supported Halla-aho, and that she had only received good feedback on his work so far.