Neil Parish suspended after being named as Tory MP found watching porn in Parliament

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Neil Parish has been named as the Conservative MP seen watching pornography in the House of Commons.

The MP for Tiverton and Honiton, in Devon, has been suspended from the parliamentary party pending at least one investigation into his alleged behaviour.

Parish, first elected in 2010, is a senior backbench MP who chairs the Environment Committee and sits on the Liaison Committee, which quizzes the prime minister of the day.

Two unnamed female Conservative MPs said earlier this week they had seen a male colleague watching porn while sitting on the Commons benches.

Before he was identified senior Tories, including the attorney general, condemned his actions, while a former minister said he should be expelled as a “minimum”.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris said: “Having spoken to the chief whip this afternoon, Neil Parish MP is reporting himself to the Standards Committee of the House of Commons.

“Mr Parish has been suspended from the Conservative Whip pending the outcome of that investigation.”

Parish is writing to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone to refer himself, the spokesperson later clarified.

He may also be investigated by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme. 

Given the serious nature of the allegation, it may also be referred to the Independent Expert Panel, which could suspend Parish for 10 or more sitting days, ultimately enabling a recall petition against Parish.

Earlier this week, before the individual had been identified, Parish appeared on GB News and was asked about the allegation.

“I think the Whips’ Office will do a thorough investigation and we will wait and see the result,” he said. “From that, the decision will have to be made on what action to be taken.”

Parish denied there was an issue with the culture in Parliament following a number of stories about wrongdoing and misconduct by MPs.

“You are going to get people that step over the line. I don’t think there’s necessarily a huge culture here, but I think it does have to be dealt with and dealt with seriously. That’s what the whips will do.”

Thangam Debbonaire, Labour’s shadow leader of the Commons, said: “The Conservatives knew for days about the disgusting behaviour of one of their MPs and tried to cover it up… This is a government rotting from the head down.”

Parish could now face two investigations: one from fellow MPs on the Standards Committee, and a separate investigation through the Independent Complaints and Grievance System.

But a spokesperson for the standards committee told Insider that the committee would only be able to consider a matter that had been referred to it by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone. A referral directly to the standards committee would not be possible, the spokesperson said.

Stone’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.