Neil Parish resigns after admitting to watching pornography in the Commons
Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has called for “radical” reform to working practices after a series of bullying and sexual misconduct offences involving MPs.
Calling for urgent action, Sir Lindsay suggested staff should no longer be employed by the parliamentarians they work for to address a series of “serious allegations”.
He was considering moving to an outside body employing aides as parliament’s reputation was feared to have hit a new low.
It comes amid reports more than 50 MPs are facing allegations of sexual misconduct.
The warning came after Tory MP Neil Parish resigned, having admitting watching pornography in the House of Commons in what he described as a “moment of madness”.
The Tiverton and Honiton MP claimed he had looked at adult material twice, the first time stumbling on a porn website while looking for tractors online, but returning deliberately on the second occasion.
He insisted he did not intend to distress female MPs who were nearby as he looked at his mobile phone.
Celebrities mock Neil Parish over tractor excuse for watching porn
Stephen Fry and David Baddiel were among celebrities to mock Neil Parish over his tractor excuse for watching porn in the House of Commons.
Fry was quick to laugh at the latest development in the story, posting a link to a tractor-related website on Twitter, with the caption: “I shouldn’t click on this, but I can’t help myself…”
Read more from our culture reporter Ellie Harrison:
Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 08:10
Tory MP quits in porn scandal
Neil Parish has resigned as a Conservative MP after admitting watching pornography in the House of Commons in what he described as a “moment of madness”.
Fighting to hold back tears in his first TV interview since the scandal broke, Mr Parish said he looked at adult material twice, the first time stumbling on a porn website while looking for tractors online, but returning deliberately on the second occasion.
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has the full story:
Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 08:00
Speaker calls for ‘radical’ parliament overhaul
Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has called for “radical” reform to working practices after a series of bullying and sexual misconduct offences involving MPs.
Calling for urgent action, Sir Lindsay suggested staff should no longer be employed by the parliamentarians they work for to address a series of “serious allegations”.
Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 07:58
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Chiara Giordano1 May 2022 07:56