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Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has criticised the Tory MP Neil Parish over his excuse for viewing porn “in error” in the House of Commons.
She tweeted:
He was looking for tractors but ended up with porn actors?
Neil Parish must think you were all born yesterday.
Boris Johnson’s Conservatives are a national embarrassment.
He was looking for tractors but ended up with porn actors? 🚜
— Angela Rayner 🌹 (@AngelaRayner) April 30, 2022
Neil Parish must think you were all born yesterday.
Boris Johnson’s Conservatives are a national embarrassment.pic.twitter.com/wm3ijan21s
He’s the unflappable frontman and loyal defender of the errant “big dog” in Downing Street. Through the lens of Conservative politics, the transport secretary Grant Shapps is on a winning streak.
But as crisis looms in a key part of his day job – running the railways – a series of bizarre interventions have raised eyebrows and hackles. Just what, the industry is wondering, is going on with Shapps and the Department for Transport?
Rumbling disquiet has erupted into outright condemnation in some quarters, at a time when the biggest rail union, the RMT, has launched a national strike ballot, against a backdrop of lost revenue, deep cuts and an uncertain future.
While the pace of promised reform and investment has been slow, Shapps has promoted personal wheezes that parts of the railway industry believe are, at best, misguided, and smack of YouTubing while Rome burns.
Neil Parish initially resisted calls to resign after saying he may have opened pornography on his phone “by mistake”.
In an interview with BBC South West, he revealed that he had initially mistakenly opened a pornography website after looking for a site related to tractors, but admitted revisiting the site intentionally on a different occasion while in the Commons.
Labour’s shadow Commons leader, Thangam Debbonaire, said Parish was right to resign over his “disgusting behaviour”.
“But it’s shocking that the Conservatives have allowed this debacle to drag out over many days,” she added.
“Time and again the Tories refuse to act, resorting to cover ups and dragging the reputation of other MPs and the house down with them.”
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Nicola Sturgeon has said the resignation of Neil Parish should be a moment for society to say “enough is enough” when it comes to misogyny.
The first minister reacted to news of the MP’s resignation as she campaigned in Burntisland, Fife, on Saturday.
She told the PA news agency:
I don’t think there could really be any other outcome to what has come to light about this particular MP over the last few days.
Watching porn on a mobile phone in the House of Commons when you’re there representing constituents is just unacceptable.
She said sexism and misogyny were a “societal problem” which now needed to change.
She added:
So this is a moment I think to really say ‘enough is enough’. Not all men are misogynists, but all women do experience misogyny.
And misogyny is by and large about male behaviour. So men have to change, and I hope this is a moment where they really think about that carefully and seriously.
- I’m Tom Ambrose and will be running this blog for the next couple of hours. Feel free to tweet me @tomambrose89 with tips and comments.
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Parish has also said that he wanted to put on record “for all my rights and wrongs, I was not proud of what I was doing and the one thing I wasn’t doing, which I will take to my grave as being true, is I was not actually making sure people could see it.
“In fact I was trying to do quite the opposite.”
Asked again why he had viewed the material, he said: “I must have taken complete leave of my senses and my sensibilities and sense of decency, everything.”
Parish said he was “not defending what I did for one moment” adding he thought the best thing he could do was to “tell the truth”.
Parish says he was trying to look at tractors instead of porn
Speaking to the BBC, Neil Parish said that viewing porn in the House of Commons was a “moment of madness” and “I was not proud of what I was doing”.
He continued: “The situation was that - funnily enough it was tractors I was looking at. I did get into another website that had a very similar name and I watched it for a bit which I shouldn’t have done. But my crime – biggest crime – is that on another occasion I went in a second time.”
When asked whether viewing the porn for a second time had been deliberate, Parish said: “That was deliberate... that was sitting waiting to vote on the side of the chamber.”
He added: “What I did was absolutely totally wrong.”
You can view his full interview with BBC South West here
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Following Neil Parish’s announcement that he will resign as an MP, 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.”
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Neil Parish to resign as an MP
The Conservative politician accused of watching porn on his phone in the House of Commons has announced he will step down as an MP after facing calls to resign.
Neil Parish, the MP for Tiverton and Honiton in Devon, had already had the Tory whip removed and suggested he had opened the porn “in error”. He previously said he would only resign if found guilty by an inquiry into his actions.
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Steven Morris has spoken to some of Neil Parish’s constituents, and many are calling for him to resign as an MP.
“He should just admit what he’s done and get out,” said Hannah Tucker, 32, a supermarket worker who was shopping with her husband, Liam. “The Tories are a joke. They get up to all sorts – and most of the time get away with it. They’ve to be stopped.”
Liam, a highways technician, said it was never acceptable to look at the sort of material Parish is alleged to have viewed in the workplace. “The scandals keep on coming. I’ll never vote Tory.”
Katy Oakley, 40, an ecologist, was walking through the town with her four-year-old daughter, Olive. “This sums up what everybody thinks about the government, another shocking incident in a long line.
“I think it shows just how out of touch members of the elite are with normal society. They think they can get away with things that ordinary people couldn’t.
“This isn’t brilliant publicity for our town – it puts Tiverton in a bad light. It’s not good for the country’s image abroad. And it’s not good for society.”
You can read the full article here:
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Who is Neil Parish?
After a 12-year parliamentary career in which the MP for Tiverton and Honiton had rarely – if ever – been elevated to national importance, Neil Parish now finds himself at the centre of a political storm after it emerged on Friday that the Tory whip had been removed from him over the allegations.
A farmer and former member of the European parliament for south-west England, and a councillor before that, Parish was part of the 2010 parliamentary intake when he won what has increasingly become a safe Tory seat.
Since then, he has avoided controversy and has tended to measure his words relatively carefully in media appearances, and has served since 2015 as chair of the environment, food and rural affairs select committee (Efra).
One of the few areas where he has gone against the grain of his own party has been in his opposition to rewilding, which he opposes despite it being a position endorsed by Boris Johnson himself and most of the party.
One Tory source with previous experience working with him on the Efra committee – to which Parish was returned as chair in successive terms – described him as quiet and hard-working. “He would not have been on the top of my list of suspects,” they said, adding that Parish, 65, is “rather boring, actually”.
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Sky News understands that Neil Parish is now likely to quit within hours after massive pressure from friends on him to step down, according to deputy political editor Sam Coates.
Sky News understands Neil Parish is now likely to quit within hours after massive pressure from friends on him to step down
— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) April 30, 2022
The Tory “porn MP” has been told by allies his position untenable because of the way he kept quiet and allowed speculation form about Tory colleagues.
There were fears last night that the ongoing speculation could have led to the complainant being named in the frenzy to uncover the name.
— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) April 30, 2022
Allies were deeply unimpressed by his TV news appearance last week where he discussed the need for an investigation to find the culprit.
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The shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has said ministers should not micromanage the books pupils read in classrooms.
Speaking to the NAHT school leaders’ annual conference in Telford, she said there was an “irony” that the government is seeking to take politics out of the classroom but simultaneously telling teachers what books to teach.
She said:
I think we need a school curriculum that inspires and supports every young person... I think children should expect to see their lives, their communities, their experiences reflected in that,
I think it is not for secretaries of state to dictate which books should or shouldn’t be taught within a school. I think you all have expertise and professionalism that allows you to deliver that.
Earlier this month the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, said that children were not “snowflakes” and should be allowed to read books featuring racial slurs.
Zahawi warned against creating “false filters” for pupils, arguing that “those in a position of responsibility should be teaching young minds how to think, not what to think”.
The government guidance on political impartiality in schools, published in February, suggested teaching of the British empire should be presented in “a balanced manner”.
Members of NAHT have expressed anger over the fact that Zahawi did not attend the conference in Telford in person on Friday while he attended a separate event for the Conservatives less than five miles away.
Shadow schools minister, Stephen Morgan, tweeted that he was “surprised to hear the Education Secretary was able to go to Telford yesterday ... but not to attend the [NAHT conference] to hear the ideas and views of headteachers in ... Telford”.
Surprised to hear the Education Secretary was able to go to Telford yesterday… but not to attend the @NAHTnews #NAHTConf to hear the ideas and views of headteachers in… Telford 🤷🏻♂️ https://t.co/8qnzKhghMy
— Stephen Morgan MP (@StephenMorganMP) April 30, 2022
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Parish's wife first learned of allegations when approached by a reporter
The wife of the Conservative MP Neil Parish said she first learned of the allegations her husband had watched porn in the Commons from a journalist who called her for a comment.
Sue Parish told the Daily Telegraph: “I didn’t know anything about it until he rang and said, ‘Oh, you know what I’m ringing about …’
“I didn’t know who was more embarrassed, actually, me or him!” said Parish. “Poor chap.”
Speaking to the Times on Friday, Sue Parish said the accusations were “all very embarrassing”, adding: “My breath was taken away, frankly.
“People shouldn’t be looking at pornography. He would never just sit there with people looking. He would never just do that knowing [people were looking]. These ladies were quite right to be as [upset] as they were.”
Describing her husband as a “normal … lovely person”, she added: “If you were mad with every man who looked at pornography, you would not have many wives in the world.
“It’s degrading. It’s demeaning. But on the other hand it takes two to tango. There must be women posing for all this.”
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You can read the full report regarding Michael Fabricant here.
The Tory MP Michael Fabricant has apologised for suggesting many teachers and nurses enjoyed a “quiet drink” at the end of the day in staff rooms during lockdown.
In a letter published on the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) union’s website following outrage from the education sector over his comments, Fabricant said it was not his intention to cause offence or to demoralise, “and I apologise if I have genuinely done so”.
He added: “I applaud the work of nurses, GPs and others in the medical and teaching professions who worked long hours under difficult, and sometimes impossible, conditions during the height of the Covid pandemic to keep us all safe and to educate our children.”
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The Conservative MP pushing for an investigation into Sir Keir Starmer drinking a beer with colleagues during Covid restrictions has been accused of wasting police time by a Labour frontbencher.
The shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said Richard Holden was wrong to ask officers to re-examine “this nonsense”, as she insisted no rules were broken.
Keir Starmer has said there is a “stark contrast” between the gathering in the Durham constituency office of local MP Mary Foy last year and the rule-breaking in Downing Street that has seen Boris Johnson fined by police.
Holden, who represents North West Durham, has asked Durham police to reconsider its assessment that no offence was committed during the meeting on April 30 last year.
Philipson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
“Richard Holden should know better than to waste police time on this nonsense, they’ve got better things to be doing with their time.
“The police have looked into this matter, no rules were broken, nothing was done that wasn’t in line with the rules at the time, so really I think they better focus the efforts on dealing with the problems they have themselves than seeking to exaggerate what was clearly within the rules at the time.”
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The safeguarding minister Rachel Maclean has held her position that Parish should be removed from the party if he is found guilty of the allegations.
Speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Maclean said: “Clearly if this is substantiated and those allegations turn out to be true, of course I stand by what I said, but at the same time there is now an investigation so it wouldn’t be helpful for me to speculate on the specific outcomes.
“This type of behaviour has no place in any workplace let alone parliament, but I think everybody would accept that when there’s an allegation that’s made … it isn’t really for us, as colleagues, to sit on judgment in another colleague, it is for that process to take place.”
Maclean added that she has “absolutely every confidence in the chief whip”.
“He’s acting incredibly quickly, I don’t see why the investigation can’t be concluded very quickly and I’m certain that appropriate action will then follow from that,” she said.
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Senior Conservative MP Caroline Nokes has accused the party of “unnecessary dither and delay” in taking action against Neil Parish, in light of allegations that he watched pornography in the House of Commons.
Nokes, who chairs the women and equalities committee, also said it would be “difficult” for Parish to spend the required time in parliament as a select committee chair while under investigation.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said: “I felt by leaving it until Friday before we knew that action had been taken by the whips that it felt like unnecessary dither and delay.”
She continued that although she was not calling for for Parish to stand down immediately from his role, it was “right those investigations are carried out before any further action is taken”.
Whether Parish should continue as the chair of the environment select committee, Nokes added that was a “matter for Neil to discuss with the party whips and to take a position on, but I think whilst he’s under investigation it’s going to make it very difficult for him to be in the Commons as much as he needs to be”.
Parish, the MP for Tiverton and Honiton in Devon, had the whip suspended after becoming the fourth MP from his party since the last election to face claims of impropriety.
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Conservative MP Michael Fabricant has apologised to headteachers for his comments suggesting teachers and nurses enjoyed a “quiet drink” in staff rooms during lockdown.
PA Media reports:
Writing to the NAHT school leaders’ union, he said it was not his intention to “demoralise” anyone and that he “was neither judging nor chastising the minority of nurses or teachers who chose to unwind with a few work colleagues after a long shift”.
He said he had heard of a “number of cases” where teachers had enjoyed a drink in school after work but that “the number of after-work drinks remain a small minority”.
He added: “My error in one part of the programme - which was repeated on TV - was to give the impression this was general practice by nurses and teachers: this was never the case.”
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Emily Dugan has spoken to female MPs regarding a climate of misogyny they feel within Westminster.
For example, Lynne Featherstone, who served as equalities minister in the coalition government and now sits in the Lords, recalled an incident on the Commons terrace when she was still an MP.
A Labour MP in his 60s “kept saying to his researchers, ‘come and sit on my knee’ and different ones were taking a turn sitting on his knee and giggling and stuff”, she said. “It was just horrible to watch. He was pulling them on to his knee and they were giggling because they were young and impressionable”.
You can read more of these accounts from Alex Davies-Jones, Jess Phillips, and Anna Soubry here:
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Parish says 'weight is lifted' after being named as MP who watched porn in Commons
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Neil Parish has said that now the allegations that he watched pornography in the Commons chamber are out in the open, it feels “almost as if a weight is lifted off me”.
When asked what happened, Parish said that he had viewed the porn “by accident”, although he did not elaborate further on how this happened.
He added: “I think it’s all going to have to go through the inquiry, and then I will give them all the evidence I have, and it’ll be for them to make the decision. And then I will make my mind up as to what I do, whether I remain in parliament or whether I leave.”
When asked if he had a comment for his constituents, Parish said: I will continue working for them. I apologise for the situation – the whip is withdrawn – but I am still their MP. And at the moment I’m still the chair of the environment, food and rural affairs select committee, and I take that job very seriously. And I will carry it on for as long as I have it.”
You can read the full interview with the Telegraph here
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Tory MP facing calls to resign over porn allegations
Good morning.
Neil Parish, the Conservative MP accused of watching pornography in the House of Commons, is facing calls to resign now rather than waiting for the results of the inquiry into the allegations.
Parish, the MP for Tiverton and Honiton in Devon, had the whip suspended after becoming the fourth MP from his party since the last election to face claims of impropriety.
In a statement, the 65-year-old wrote on his website: “I will be cooperating fully with any investigation, and whilst it is ongoing I will continue to perform my duties as MP for Tiverton and Honiton.”
However, there were suggestions that a Tory minister also saw him watching porn on a second occasion, in a committee meeting.
Parish said he would consider his position as an MP after the result of the investigation, telling reporters: “I will not remain if I am found guilty.”
Labour’s shadow leader of the House of Commons, Thangam Debbonaire, says Parish should “do the decent thing and resign”.
“He has referred himself to the standards committee, where they will have, among various other options, the option to expel,” she told reporters.
“But I think really he should do the decent thing and resign.”
We’ll bring you more updates on this story throughout the day.
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