The lower house voted by 241 to 206 to remove the immunity of Jaroslaw Kaczyński, the president of the Law and Justice Party.

The removal of his immunity, which protects Kaczyński from criminal prosecution, relates to an alleged incident of assault.

It is alleged that on October 24 this year, during an event commemorating the Smolensk air disaster, which claimed the life of Kaczyński’s twin brother Lech, the Law and Justice leader struck a member of the public following an altercation.

The parliamentary vote was set against a backdrop of a deep political divide in Poland.

Donald Tusk, the prime minister and leader of the Civic Coalition, the dominant grouping in Poland’s coalition government, has long been Kaczyński’s bitter rival, and the two have a lengthy history of personal clashes.

Kaczyński has also accused Tusk have bearing some responsibility for his brother’s death.