Neil Parish Says He Will Resign As An MP After Looking At Porn In The Commons
2 min read
Neil Parish, Conservative MP and chair of the environment committee, has said he will resign as an MP after he was accused of watching pornography in the House of Commons.
Parish, the MP for Tiverton and Honiton, told the BBC he was resigning as an MP after admitting he watched pornography twice in the House of Commons.
Mr Parish said it had been a "moment of madness", adding the first time was accidental after looking at tractors, but the second time was deliberate.
"The situation was that - funnily enough it was tractors I was looking at. I did get into another website that had a very similar name and I watched it for a bit which I shouldn't have done," he said.
A spokesperson for Tiverton and Honiton Conservatives said: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank Neil Parish for his service to our communities over the past 12 years. We support his decision to step down as our member of parliament.”
Parish is being investigated by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme. The body looks into allegations of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment in parliament. He told the BBC it was not his intention to "intimidate".
In a meeting of Conservative MPs on Tuesday, two MPs reportedly accused a male colleague of watching pornography in the House of Commons. The meeting was attended by around 40 Conservative MPs plus Heaton-Harris and Conservative party chair, Oliver Dowden.
The identity of the MP had been the subject of speculation in Westminster in recent days.
Senior Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, who attended Tuesday's meeting, on Thursday told PoliticsHome's podcast The Rundown that she had expected the invidual to be identified as soon as the following morning, and feared the case being "kicked into long rass".
Elected in 2019, Parish chaired the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and also sits on the Liaison Committee of House of Commons committee chairs.
Thangam Debbonaire MP, Labour's Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, said: “This is the right decision, the people of Tiverton and Honiton deserve better than Neil Parish’s disgusting behaviour.
“But it’s shocking that the Conservatives have allowed this debacle to drag out over many days. Time and again the Tories refuse to act, resorting to cover ups and dragging the reputation of other MPs and the House down with them.
"From the Owen Paterson scandal, voting to keep Rob Roberts in parliament, and their failure to act against their paedophile MP Imran Ahmad Khan, this Conservative government is rotting from the head down. Britain deserves better."
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