Neil Parish, the Tory MP accused of watching pornography in the Commons, insisted he won’t quit as a key Committee chair in a bizarre late-night interview.
The Tiverton and Honiton MP, who last night sat to speak with a newspaper in his dressing gown, before posing for photos with his dog, said he was “beginning to relax” after the revelations.
“Strangely, now it’s out in the open, it's almost as if a weight is lifted off me, really,” he told the Telegraph.
Mr Parish chairs the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee, a job he says he’ll cling onto until he’s forced out.
His role as chairman grants him a seat on the Liaison committee - the powerful “committee of committees” which is the only one to regularly summon the Prime Minister for questioning.
Asked what message he’d send to his constituents, he said: “That I very much enjoy being their MP, I've worked very hard, and 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“I apologise for the situation – the whip is withdrawn – but I am still their MP.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.”
Mr Parish’s wife, Sue revealed she had learned of the allegations when she was called by a journalist yesterday - meaning neither Mr Parish nor the party had prepared her for what was coming.
Speaking to the Times yesterday, Mrs Parish said the allegations were “very embarrassing”.
“My breath was taken away, frankly,” she said.
“People shouldn’t be looking at pornography. He would never just sit there with people looking. These ladies were quite right to be as (upset) as they were. I’ve just no idea what happens in these circumstances.
“I think it would be a bit stupid (to let it come between us). As I say, I’m fairly tough. You’ve got to carry on, haven’t you?"
She went on: “If you were mad with every man who looked at pornography, you would not have many wives in the world.”
She said she did not understand the attraction of pornography, which she described as “degrading” and “demanding”.
“But on the other hand it takes two to tango,” she added. “There must be women posing for all this.”
Mr Parish later told the Sun: "It was a complete mistake, and I will man up to it as they say".
He said he'd told his wife: "I’m sorry you married a f***ing idiot."
Senior Tory MP Caroline Nokes this morning accused the Conservative whips of "dither and delay" in suspending Mr Parish.
The chair of the Women and Equalities Committee told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "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."
Safeguarding minister Rachel Maclean added: "I agree with pretty much everything that she said. I think it is right that action has been taken, that the Chief Whip has taken the action he has taken. There clearly needed to be some time to establish the veracity, the facts of the case."
Told Mr Parish was not denying watching pornography, she said: "That's right, he wasn't."
Ms Nokes has said it will be "difficult" for Neil Parish to continue spending the required time in Parliament while under investigation for allegedly watching pornography in the Commons chamber.
She did not call for her Conservative colleague to immediately stand down, saying: "I think it's right those investigations are carried out before any further action is taken."
Asked about him continuing as a select committee chair, she said: "That's 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."
In a later TV interview, Mr Parish said he had looked at something “in error”, but wouldn’t give further details.
And last night he said he would wait for the conclusion of the investigation into his behaviour before deciding whether to step down as an MP.
Mrs Parish told the Telegraph last night the couple had discussed the matter and it had been “explained” to her satisfaction.
“I didn’t know who was more embarrassed, actually, me or him!” she said. “Poor chap.”
The interview given to the Telegraph was Mr Parish's third since saying in a statement "I will not be making further comments at this stage."
