British Conservative MP Neil Parish announced this Saturday his decision to resign as a parliamentarian after it was revealed that he watched pornography on his mobile while participating in the sessions of the House of Commons.
Deputy for the constituency of Tiverton & Honiton, in the county of Devon (South West England), Parish has admitted in an interview with the BBC that it was about “a moment of madness“and has recognized that the first time he accessed pornographic images was in a way”accidental“but that the second time he did it was deliberate.
Parish had been suspended last night for his training and his case was scheduled to be investigated by the standards committee of the Lower House, charged with evaluating his conduct and establishing whether he was guilty of inappropriate behaviour.
However, Parish, who had refused to resign, has opted to give up his seat as MP, which will give way to a by-election to choose his replacement.
After being identified as the deputy who watched porn, Parish had admitted yesterday that he was able to open for “mistake” the video, although two female colleagues claimed to have seen him looking at some pornographic images while he was in the Lower House.
The deputy was subjected to strong pressure to leave his seat
The deputy was under strong pressure to leave his seat, after conservative colleagues criticized him and opposition parties called for his resignation.
A Conservative Party spokesman at Tiverton & Honiton has thanked Parish for “their services to our communities” for the past few years and who supported “his decision to resign as a British Member of Parliament”.
Parish, 65, was president of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee of the House of Commons, and his resignation has been announced days before local elections are held in Great Britain on Thursday, May 5.
The president of House of Commons Women and Equality Committeethe conservative Caroline Noks, She admitted that sexism is institutionalized in the Conservative Party and that she has been criticized for denouncing this situation.
This scandal came to light after the controversy over anonymous statements by several deputies “Tories‘, which falsely accused Labour’s ‘number two’, Angela Rayner, of trying to distract British Prime Minister Boris Johnson by crossing and uncrossing his legs in the “premiere” control sessions.
The scope of the misogyny against Rayner forced Johnson and other parliamentarians to stand in solidarity with politics and denounce such attitudes “unacceptable“in a parliament.
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