Quentin Letts has come under fire for his response to allegations of an MP watching porn in the House of Commons. The journalist appeared on Good Morning Britain today (April 27) and said Parliament is a "very boring place" and "not exactly like a church."
Speaking amid reports that a male Tory MP watched pornographic material on his phone in Parliament, Quentin told GMB's Ben Shephard and Ranvir Singh: "If I can just play devil's advocate for a second, I'd say if you've ever been in the House of Commons it's an extremely boring place.
"I think it would be wrong for viewers to think that parliamentarians are constantly thinking about great matters of state when they're in the House of Commons. You go in there and they're doing all sorts of things, they're looking at their tablets, so it's not exactly like it's a church.
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"And second I'd say politics is politics, and the politicians tend to represent the country and there are a lot of pretty grotty people in this country who get a kick out of pornography."
Quentin, a parliamentary sketch writer for The Times, has been criticised by viewers on Twitter for his comments. @martleshamman said: "An unbelievable response by Quentin Letts when asked about the MP watching porn!! Devil's advocate ffs. What an arrogant, sad little man."
@sdbrown500 added: "That Quentin Letts should not be given a platform on this show. He’s out of date and some of his opinions are odious." @mento56 said: "Quentin Letts trying to justify watching porn in the Hous because it's "boring" Unbelievable!"
While GladonBaltiKing wrote: "Quentin Letts makes me turn your show off. Insufferable."
It comes as a Home Office minister says the Tory MP who allegedly watched porn in the House of Commons should be expelled from the party, if claims are correct. Rachel Maclean, who is the minister responsible for safeguarding women, said the alleged behaviour was “shocking and unacceptable”, adding that there should be no place for it in the party or in Parliament.
Government chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris has launched an investigation after the allegations about the unnamed MP surfaced during a meeting of Tory MPs at Westminster on Tuesday. Ms Maclean, who was at the gathering, said that everyone present had been “shocked and horrified” at what they were hearing.
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