Neil Parish, the MP accused of watching pornography in the Commons, is coming under pressure to quit parliament.
The Conservatives finally suspended him on Friday, days after two female MPs shocked colleagues by revealing that they had witnessed him watching explicit movies on his phone while sitting in the chamber.
One said she believed Mr Parish knew she had caught him, but that he continued watching the adult material.
Incredibly, before his identity was revealed by the Telegraph on Friday, the MP for Tiverton and Honiton was asked about the allegations during an interview with GB News.
He was asked if a politician watching porn in the Commons should lose the whip.
'You are going to get people that step over the line.'
— GB News (@GBNEWS) April 29, 2022
Neil Parish, who has had the whip removed following accusations he watched pornography in the Commons, spoke to Darren McCaffrey earlier this week and denied there was a cultural problem in Parliament. pic.twitter.com/bHHQedHpdo
Mr Parish said: "I think the whip's office will do a thorough investigation and we will wait and see that result and I think you know, from that, then the decision will have to be made, what action to be taken."
He was then asked if there was a problem with the culture in the House of Commons.
Mr Parish replied: "I think if you've got 650 Members of Parliament in what is you know, a very sort of very intense area, I mean, you are going to get people that step over the line. I don't think there's necessarily a huge culture here, but I think it does have to be dealt with and dealt with seriously and I think that's what the whips will do in our whip's office."
Writing on his website on Friday afternoon, Mr Parish said: “Following recent allegations regarding an MP’s use of their mobile phone in Parliament, I have referred myself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards in the House of Commons.
“I will be cooperating fully with any investigation, and whilst it is ongoing I will continue to perform my duties as MP for Tiverton and Honiton.
“I will not be making further comments at this stage.”
Harriet Harman - the longest-serving female MP in the Commons – told the BBC Radio 4 PM programme that Mr Parish should resign.
She said: “This marks a new low for the House of Commons.
“If this is what he has done, he should stand down from Parliament right away. It is not right for him to go through the investigation processes if that is what he has done.
“Clearly he is not fit to be in Parliament. He should accept that and not drag the processes out.”
Earlier in the week, Home Office minister, Rachel Maclean, who was at the meeting on Tuesday where the allegations surfaced, said everyone present had been “shocked and horrified”.
“It’s just gruesome,” she told Sky News’s The Take With Sophy Ridge.
“I’m the minister responsible for safeguarding women and for creating laws which protect women against sexual harassment and violence against women and girls, so it is deeply sickening and disgusting to hear that a male MP is watching porn.
“Action needs to be taken and I very much hope… we will see him out of Parliament, out of the party. I hope that’s where we get to.”
Mr Parish is the chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and was first elected to Parliament in the 2010 General Election.
He is married with two children and two grandchildren.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel