‘Porn MP’ refuses to quit as he loses whip
Female Tories demand Neil Parish is expelled after he is named in sleaze scandal
A SENIOR Conservative MP vowed to fight on last night after being named as the politician accused of watching pornography in the House of Commons.
Neil Parish, who represents Tiverton and Honiton, had the Tory whip removed and will be investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner after The Daily Telegraph disclosed yesterday afternoon that he was the person facing the allegations.
In a statement issued on his website, Mr Parish insisted he would continue to perform his duties while awaiting the conclusion of the investigation.
He later suggested to reporters he had opened pornographic material “in error” and apologised, saying he understood the upset caused. His wife, Sue Parish, stood by him, saying: “If you were mad with every man who looked at pornography, you would not have many wives in the world.”
Last night Mr Parish told The Telegraph: “Strangely, now it’s out in the open, it’s almost as if a weight is lifted off me.” He added: “My wife is amazingly loyal and better than I deserve.”
However, Boris Johnson was last night facing calls to ask Mr Parish to resign amid fears it would cast a shadow over the Conservatives in next week’s local elections.
There were also questions about why the Tory whips had refused to release the identity of the MP or expel him from the parliamentary party until contacted by this newspaper.
Mr Parish said he had discussed the matter with Chris Heaton-harris, the Chief Whip, and awaited the conclusion of the investigation.
In a statement, Mr Parish made clear he would not be quitting. He said: “I will be co-operating fully with any investigation, and whilst it is ongoing I will continue to perform my duties as MP for Tiverton and Honiton.”
Later asked by reporters if he could understand the upset caused, Mr Parish said: “Of course I do, and I apologise for that.” Mrs Parish, who was only told about the claims by her husband yesterday, said: “He’s quite a normal guy. He’s a lovely person. It’s just so stupid.”
It is possible Mr Parish could be prosecuted under laws for watching pornography in public, although lawyers would probably have to demonstrate he intended others to see it.
Last night there was growing criticism from female Tory MPS of how the issue had been handled by party whips.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, who sits on the women and equalities committee, said: “I cannot see how his position is sustainable. It is just utterly bizarre.”
Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the Prime Minister should tell Mr Parish to “resign immediately”. Neither Mr Johnson nor a Downing Street spokesman commented.
It comes after a week dominated by accusations of MP sleaze and sexism. Female Tory MPS, two of whom accused Mr Parish of watching pornography in the Commons on Tuesday, have been publicly airing stories of sexist behaviour by fellow politicians.
Meanwhile, Anne-marie Trevelyan, the International Trade Secretary, said she was once “pinned up against a wall” by a male MP. A Welsh MP, who wants to remain anonymous, also accused a member of the shadow cabinet of making lewd comments, such as that she was a “secret weapon” because women want to befriend her and men want to sleep with her.
Angela Rayner, the Labour deputy leader, spoke out against the “sexist slurs” women face, which she said are “mortifying and deeply hurtful”.
WHEN Neil Parish was asked on live television what he thought should happen to the anonymous Conservative MP accused of watching pornography in the House of Commons, he replied that they should be “dealt with seriously”.
Little did viewers know, Mr 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 “jawdropping” claims on Wednesday, he professed faith in the “thorough investigation” launched by the whips’ office.
By yesterday 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.
Last night, the MP for Tiverton and Honiton 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 apologise 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. The news will thrust the issue of MPS’ misbehaviour back into the spotlight following a slew of stories about misbehaving members, the most recent of which will see a by-election in Wakefield in the coming weeks.
Sleaze is now one of the most highprofile issues in politics, prompting several female politicians to come forward with their experiences of sexual misconduct and accusations of fellow MPS.
But Mr 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 (PPS), and has spoken rarely in the Commons apart from in debates about farming and agriculture.
Mr Parish could be considered on the Right of the party, having opposed same-sex 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.
Mr Parish works from his parliamentary office with his wife Sue, who he employs as a secretary, and with whom he has two children.
Speaking outside their family’s farm in Devon yesterday, Mrs 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 nor
‘If you were mad with every man who looked at pornography you would not have many wives in the world’
mal 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.”
Mr 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.
Last night, Dame Caroline Dinenage, who joined the Tory benches alongside Mr 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 Mr Parish to resign “immediately”, while Harriet Harman – the Labour MP and former minister – said that yesterday marked a “new low” for the Commons.
The incident is also likely to reignite accusations of cronyism within the Conservative Party, which was last night accused by Labour of deliberately suppressing the claims for political reasons.
“The Conservatives knew for days about the disgusting behaviour of one of their MPS and tried to cover it up,” a source said.
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 yesterday that 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 Mr Parish’s constituency last night 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 sacked.
“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.”