Conservative politician Neil Parish has reportedly resigned as an MP, after watching pornography in the House of Commons chamber in what he described as a “moment of madness”.
Mr Parish – the MP for Tiverton and Honiton in east Devon in the UK – admitted that he had looked at adult material twice, and that the second occasion was deliberate.
Speaking to the BBC, he said that initially he had stumbled across the website while looking for information about tractors, but later returned deliberately to the website.
And he admitted: “I was not proud of what I was doing.”
The senior backbencher had come under intense pressure after indicating yesterday that he intended to remain in his Commons seat, and hold onto his position as chair of the Westminster environment committee, until the completion of an investigation by standards commissioner Kathryn Stone.
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.”
The select committee chair had initially vowed to continue his “duties” as an MP after he was suspended from the parliamentary Conservative Party when he was revealed to be the man at the centre of the allegations.
Sky News, which first reported the possible development, suggested Mr Parish had been told by allies his position had become untenable.
They are said to have voiced concerns about the way he maintained his silence as rumours swirled about who the culprit was since two Tory MPs aired the accusations on Tuesday.
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The backbencher had been pledging to continue his “duties” as the MP for the Devon constituency and as chairman of the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
Asked by reporters at his Somerset farmhouse if he opened something in error in the Commons, he said: “I did, but let the inquiry look at that.”
However, there have been suggestions that a Tory minister also witnessed him watching porn on a second occasion, in a committee
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