Neil Parish is under investigation for allegedly viewing adult material on his phone in Parliament.
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
A Conservative MP under investigation for allegedly watching pornography in the House of Commons has claimed he opened it on his phone by mistake.
An inquiry has been launched after Neil Parish referred himself for investigation.
He has refused to resign as an MP or as head of the environment select committee until the inquiry concludes.
Two female colleagues complained after claiming to have seen him looking at adult content while sitting near them.
Mr Parish has been suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party, pending the outcome of the investigation by Parliament’s standards commissioner Kathryn Stone.
If she finds that he has violated the code of conduct for MPs, possible punishments range from having to apologise to the Commons to suspension or expulsion.
On Wednesday, it emerged that a female minister had reported a male colleague for viewing pornographic material while sitting beside her in the Commons chamber.
A second female Tory MP said she had tried but been unable to capture video proof of him doing so.
The allegations were subsequently revealed to have been made about Mr Parish, who said he had referred himself to Ms Stone for investigation.
Mr Parish, who serves as the MP for Tiverton and Honiton in Devon, also chairs the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
The investigation does not prevent him from continuing in either role.
Questioned by the BBC on Friday, he said he would co-operate fully with the inquiry and would await the outcome before commenting.
When asked if he made a mistake and accidentally opened something on his phone in error, Mr Parish said: “I did, but let the inquiry look at that.”
Mr Parish also said he would resign if “found guilty” by the inquiry.
However, in a statement on his website, he said he would continue working as an MP and committee chair, despite calls from female colleagues for him resign or at least stop attending Parliament while under investigation.
‘Disgusting behaviour’
In an interview with the Times, Mr Parish’s wife, Sue Parish, said the allegation was “very embarrassing” and described her husband as “quite a normal guy” and “a lovely person”.
She added she did not see the attraction of pornography and understood why the women who made the allegation were upset.
Conservative party Chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris has asked for the matter to be referred to Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.
Labour’s shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire accused the government of having known about the “disgusting behaviour” for days and having attempted to “cover it up”.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “tell Neil Parish to resign immediately”.
And environment committee member Kirsty Blackman of the SNP said Mr Parish should resign as chair of the committee.
Who is Neil Parish?
- The 65-year-old, an MP since 2010, was a Member of the European Parliament for South West England from 1999 to 2009
- He left school at 16 to manage his family’s farm and, in 2000, was an election monitor during Zimbabwe’s parliamentary election
- He opposed Brexit in the 2016 referendum and voted against the introduction of same-sex marriage by David Cameron’s government
- Mr Parish is married and has two children and two grandchildren
Mr Parish was questioned by GB News earlier this week about allegations an MP had been caught watching porn.
He told the broadcaster he expected the whips’ office to “do a thorough investigation” which the party would “wait and see” that result of.
“I think from that then the decision will have to be made what action to be taken,” Mr Parrish added.
The claims against Mr Parish follow a series of allegations about other MPs’ behaviour.
International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said on Friday that she had once been “pinned up against a wall” by a male colleague and subject to misogyny and “wandering hands” on numerous occasions.
Attorney General Suella Braverman told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour there had to be a discussion about “moral standards”, complaining that a minority of men in politics “behave like animals”.
And a Welsh MP alleged that a member of Labour’s shadow cabinet had made lewd remarks to her.
