A clip of the Tory MP allegedly caught watching porn in the Commons chamber has resurfaced in which he discussed the issue just two days before being suspended over the incident.
Speaking to GB News on Wednesday, Neil Parish MP denied there were problems with the parliamentary culture, arguing that in a “very intense area, you are going to get people that step over the line”.
Today, the MP for Tiverton and Honiton was suspended pending the results of an investigation by the Standards Committee, the Conservative chief whip said.
Asked if he thought the MP accused of watching porn in the Commons chamber should have the whip removed if found guilty, Mr Parish told GB News on Wednesday: “I think the whips office will do a through investigation and we will wait and see that result.
“I think, from that, the decision will have to be made [as to] what action will be taken.”
Asked if he thought there was a problem with the culture in parliament, the chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said: “I think if you have got 650 members of parliament in what is a very intense area, you are going to get people that step over the line.
“I don’t necessarily think there is a huge culture here, but I think it does have to be dealt with and dealt with seriously.
“I think that’s what the whips will do in our whips’ office.”
It comes after a torrent of cross-party outrage at the claims first made by two female Tory MPs during a meeting with the party’s chief whip on Tuesday evening.
After 48 hours of speculation over the identity of the politician, a spokesperson for the chief whip 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 party whip pending the outcome of that investigation”
The accuations against Mr Parish follow reports that 56 MPs, including three Cabinet ministers, are facing allegations of sexual misconduct that have been referred to the ICGS.
They also come in the wake of The Mail On Sunday ‘s “sexist” and disputed publishing of claims from unnamed Tory MPs that deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner tried to distract Boris Johnson with her legs during PMQs.
Attorney General Suella Braverman has described a minority of men in Parliament behaving like “animals” and said the porn-watching MP should be expelled if found guilty.
The prime minster has described the alleged adult film watching as “clearly totally unacceptable”.
