London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Tory MP Neil Parish investigated over claims he watched porn in Commons

Tory MP Neil Parish investigated over claims he watched porn in Commons

The Conservative MP accused of watching pornography in the House of Commons chamber has been named as Neil Parish.

He has been suspended from the parliamentary party and is under investigation by Parliament's standards commissioner.

Two female colleagues complained earlier this week after allegedly seeing him looking at adult content on his phone while sitting near them.

Mr Parish said he had referred himself for investigation.

If the standards commissioner, Kathryn Stone, finds that he has violated the code of conduct for MPs, possible sanctions range from having to make an apology to the Commons to suspension or expulsion.

Questioned by the BBC, Mr Parish said he would co-operate fully with the inquiry and would await Ms Stone's findings before commenting on the allegation.

When asked if he made a mistake and opened something on his phone in error, he said: "I did, but let the inquiry look at that."

"Of course it's embarrassing and it's embarrassing for my wife and family and that's my main concern at the moment," he said, "I have a very supportive wife and I thank her for that."

Mr Parish said he had told his wife that the reports concerned him on Friday afternoon and said he would "not remain" an MP if he was "found guilty".

For the time being, Mr Parish said he would "continue to perform my duties as MP for Tiverton and Honiton" while the investigation was ongoing, in a statement on his website.

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 said she did not see the attraction of pornography and understood why the women who made the allegation were upset.

"I'm a woman," she was quoted as saying. "Hence why the women were so cross. It's degrading. It's demanding. But on the other hand it takes two to tango. There must be women posing for all this."

But veteran Labour MP and former deputy party leader Harriet Harman told the BBC the allegations marked a "new low for the House of Commons".

She said Mr Parish should stand down as an MP immediately if he watched porn in Parliament, adding: "It's not right for him to go through the investigation processes if that's what he's done."

And Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: "If Boris Johnson had any shred of decency left, he would tell Neil Parish to resign immediately.

"In any other workplace this would count as gross misconduct and the person responsible would lose their job."


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

It emerged on Wednesday that a female minister had reported seeing a male Tory MP 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.

A Conservative spokesperson said Mr Parish has been suspended from the party whip pending the outcome of Ms Stone's investigation.

Conservative chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris has already asked for the matter to be referred to Parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.

Mr Parish, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, in Devon, chairs the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

The investigation does not prevent him from continuing in that role.

Environment committee member, the SNP's Kirsty Blackman, said she was "shell-shocked" and that Mr Parish "absolutely shouldn't remain as chair".

"I hope this does not detract or distract from the good work the committee has done and continues to do," she added.

Conservative MP Pauline Latham also suggested Mr Parish should be removed as chairman of the select committee.

Meanwhile, fellow Conservative MP and former Home Office minister Karen Bradley said she hoped Mr Parish would "do the right thing and not come into Parliament" now an investigation was under way.

Suella Braverman has called for a debate on Parliament's moral standards


Mr Parish was quizzed by GB News earlier this week about allegations an MP had been caught watching porn.

"I think the whips' office will do a thorough investigation, and we will wait and see that result," he told the channel.

"I think from that then the decision will have to be made what action to be taken."

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.


Tory MP Neil Parish on porn allegations: 'Of course it's embarrassing'


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
×