CONSERVATIVE Neil Parish has vowed to continue his “duties” as an MP after he was identified as the parliamentarian accused of watching pornography in the Commons chamber.
The Tiverton and Honiton MP said he would be “cooperating fully” with investigators after he had the Tory whip suspended on Friday.
The confirmation that Parish was the man at the centre of the allegations ends days of speculation since the claims surfaced during a meeting of Tory MPs on Tuesday.
Parish, the 65-year-old farmer who chairs the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said he had referred himself to the Commons standards commissioner over the allegations.
Conservative chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris suspended Parish, who has represented the Devon constituency since 2010, after they talked on Friday afternoon.
“Mr Parish has been suspended from the Conservative whip pending the outcome of that investigation,” a spokesman for Mr Heaton-Harris said.
First the Tories looked to refer the matter to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), which looks into claims of bullying and sexual harassment.
It is understood that process has now started after at least one witness made a referral.
But a second investigation could be launched after Parish’s commitment to refer himself to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone.
Writing on his website, Parish said: “Following recent allegations regarding an MP’s use of their mobile phone in Parliament, I have referred myself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards in the House of Commons.
“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.”
Labour’s Harriet Harman, who is the longest-standing female MP, called on Mr Parish to stand down as an MP amid the “new low for the House of Commons”.
“If this is what he has done, he should stand down from Parliament right away. It is not right for him to go through the investigation processes if that is what he has done.
“Clearly he is not fit to be in Parliament. He should accept that and not drag the processes out.”
It was unclear what potential breach of the MPs’ code of conduct he would report himself for.
But it is thought one line of inquiry could be whether Parish caused “significant damage to the reputation and integrity” of the Commons.
Before being identified as the MP at the centre of the storm, Parish was asked about the allegations during an appearance on GB News earlier this week.
He was non-committal on whether the suspect should have the whip removed and denied there was a large cultural problem in Westminster, despite senior Conservative colleagues having decried it as being “shameful”.
“We’ve got some 650 Members of Parliament in what is a very intense area,” Mr Parish said.
“We are going to get people that step over the line. I don’t think there’s necessarily a huge culture here but I think it does have to be dealt with and dealt with seriously and that’s what the whips will do.”
Tory MP Caroline Nokes, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, said she had been “disappointed” that the whip was not removed immediately but was “very relieved” that Parish has now been suspended from the parliamentary Conservative Party.
She told ITV News: “I’ve been calling for the chief whip to remove the whip from when we first heard about this incident. It’s appalling, nobody should be watching pornography at work.
“I’m pleased that action has been taken and I hope that the two women who complained are being supported through the system as well.”
Shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire accused the Government of “rotting from the head down”.
The Labour frontbencher said: “The Conservatives knew for days about the disgusting behaviour of one of their MPs and tried to cover it up.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper called for the Prime Minister to order Mr Parish to resign.
“If Boris Johnson had any shred of decency left, he would tell Neil Parish to resign immediately,” she said.
“In any other workplace this would count as gross misconduct and the person responsible would lose their job. Parliament should be no different.
“We don’t need to insult the women MPs who witnessed this with a lengthy investigation. All his bosses need to do is ask for his devices and look at his viewing history, this isn’t rocket science.”
The pornography claims followed reports that 56 MPs, including three Cabinet ministers, are facing allegations of sexual misconduct that have been referred to the ICGS.
They also follow outrage over The Mail On Sunday publishing “sexist” and disputed claims from unnamed Tory MPs that deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner tried to distract Boris Johnson with her legs during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The scrutiny of politicians’ behaviour also comes after Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were fined for breaching coronavirus rules during the ongoing partygate investigation.
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.
Johnson has described the alleged adult film watching as “clearly totally unacceptable”.
