British MP Neil Parish resigns after watching porn in Parliament - New Style Motorsport

LONDON — A British lawmaker from the ruling Conservative Party has resigned after admitting to viewing pornography on his phone in the House of Commons.

Neil Parish, a member of Parliament since 2010, announced his decision on Saturday after pressure from members of his own party seeking to dispel sordid accusations before Britain holds local elections on May 5.

The ticket is seen as critical for Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is already facing backlash from voters over lockdown-breaking parties on government offices during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Neil Parish, 65, resigned after what he described as a “crazy” moment. Parish, chairman of the House Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said he was trying to find a tractor website, but stumbled across a porn site with a similar name and looked at it “a little bit.”

“My biggest crime is that on another occasion I entered for the second time,” he told the BBC. “And that was deliberate.”

Image: GREAT BRITAIN-POLITICS-PARLIAMENT-PORN-SEXISM
Neil Parish had been the Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton. RICHARD TOWNSHEND/AFP – Getty Images

Reports that a lawmaker had viewed pornography amidst the House of Commons’ historic green benches triggered a spate of complaints from women in Parliament about the misogyny and sexual harassment they have faced while doing their jobs.

Long known for its macho and alcoholic culture, Parliament is now a more diverse place, with women holding nearly 40 per cent of seats in the House of Commons. But lawmakers and staff say harassment and inappropriate behavior remain rampant in a system that largely allows members to control themselves.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Parish’s resignation should be a moment for people across the UK to say “enough is enough”.

“I don’t think there can really be any other outcome of what has come to light about this particular MP in the last few days,” he said while campaigning in Fife, Scotland. “Viewing pornography on a mobile phone in the House of Commons when you are representing the constituents is simply unacceptable.”

Parish rejected the idea that he was trying to intimidate anyone.

“Despite all my rights and wrongs, I was not proud of what I was doing,” he said. “And the one thing that I wasn’t doing, and that I’ll take to my grave as true, is that I wasn’t actually making sure that people could see it. In fact, he was trying to do the complete opposite.”

The scandal comes at a precarious time for Johnson, who will face pressure to resign if the Conservatives do poorly in local elections.

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