National Post (National Edition)
U.K. `porn MP' unmasked
65-year-old watched smut in chamber
OF COURSE IT'S EMBARRASSING AND IT'S EMBARRASSING FOR MY WIFE AND FAMILY. —NEIL PARISH, CONSERVATIVE MP
LONDON — When Neil Parish was asked on live television what he thought should happen to the anonymous Conservative MP accused of watching pornography in the U.K. House of Commons, he replied that they should be “dealt with seriously.”
Little did viewers know, Parish was referring to an inquiry into himself.
The chairman of Parliament's environment committee had been booked to discuss a report about the productivity of rural businesses, but when asked by the GB News presenter about the “jaw-dropping” claims on Wednesday, he professed faith in the “thorough investigation” launched by the whips' office.
By Friday afternoon, he had been named by The Daily Telegraph as the MP at the centre of the allegations, lost the party whip pending investigation and been asked to refer himself to Parliament's Standards Commissioner.
Friday night, the 65-yearold MP said he would resign only if he is “found guilty” by a parliamentary investigation, and suggested he had opened material on his phone “by error.”
“I will await the findings of the inquiry and then I will consider my position. I will not remain if I am found guilty,” he said.
“Of course it's embarrassing, and it's embarrassing for my wife and family so that's my main concern at the moment.”
Asked if he could understand the upset that he could have caused, he said: “Of course I do, and I apologize for that.”
The story ended days of speculation about which Tory was the “porn MP,” prompting furious denials and complaints to the whips' office that innocent parties had been besmirched.
A statement was issued by Chris Heaton-Harris, the chief whip, minutes after The Telegraph approached his office and announced its intention to publish.
“Having spoken to the chief whip this afternoon, Neil Parish MP is reporting himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards,” it read.
Sleaze is now one of the most high-profile issues in British politics, prompting several female politicians to come forward with their experiences of sexual misconduct and accusations of fellow MPs.
But Parish is unlikely to be accustomed to the media coverage he will receive in the coming days, having kept out of the spotlight since his election to Parliament in 2010.
A farmer by trade, the Devon MP is mainly known, if at all, in Westminster for his campaigning on rural issues.
He has never served on the government front bench, despite a brief stint as a parliamentary private secretary, and has spoken rarely in the Commons apart from in debates about farming and agriculture.
Parish could be considered on the right of the party, having opposed samesex marriage and being against allowing courts to adjudicate on the divorce of same-sex couples. He considers the issue one “for the Church and Christians to decide,” according to a speech he gave in 2013.
Parish works from his parliamentary office with his wife Sue, whom he employs as a secretary, and with whom he has two children.
Speaking outside their family's farm in Devon Friday, Sue Parish said the story had been “all very embarrassing” but vowed to stand by him if the allegations are found to be true.
“If you were mad with every man who looked at pornography, you would not have many wives in the world,” she told reporters. “I don't understand it. I'm a woman, hence why the women were so cross. But on the other hand, it takes two to tango. There must be women posing for all this.
“I think it would be a bit stupid (to let it come between us). As I say, I'm fairly tough. You've got to carry on, haven't you?”
Asked if she was aware of her husband having done similar activities before, she said: “No. He's quite a normal guy, really. He's a lovely person. It's just so stupid. People shouldn't be looking at pornography. He would never just sit there with people looking.
“These ladies were quite right to be as (upset) as they were. I've just no idea what happens in these circumstances. I don't know whether it's ever happened before.”
Parish must now decide whether to attend the next event in the Commons calendar: the Queen's Speech on May 10.
Many colleagues with whom he has watched the spectacle in the past are now demanding his resignation, while speculation has already begun that he could face a criminal investigation.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, who joined the Tory benches alongside Parish in 2010, said it was now time for him to stand down.
Caroline Nokes, chairman of Parliament's women and equalities committee, said the claims were “appalling.”
“I've been calling for the chief whip to remove the whip from when we first heard about this incident,” she said. “Nobody should be watching pornography at work.”
Daisy Cooper, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said if the prime minister “had any shred of decency left” he would instruct Parish to resign “immediately.”
The incident is unlikely to be the last time Boris Johnson has to handle a sleaze incident within the Conservative Party, as more women come forward to accuse MPs of misconduct.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the international trade secretary, said she had been “pinned up against a wall” by a male MP and subjected to “wandering hands,” as she advised colleagues to “keep your hands in your pockets and behave as you would if you had your daughter in the room.”
In Parish's constituency voters were unimpressed that their representative had clung on to his job.
Joe McCaig, the owner of the Holt pub in Honiton, recalled an incident where the boss of a local company was caught watching pornography in his office and fired.
“It just shows that in any other circumstances you would not get away with that,” he said. “But this government seems capable of most things, and when I heard it on the news I wasn't surprised.”