LONDON — A British lawmaker from the governing Conservative Party has resigned after admitting he watched pornography on his telephone in the House of Commons chamber.
Neil Parish, a member of Parliament since 2010, introduced his choice Saturday after strain from members of his personal social gathering who sought to defuse sleaze allegations earlier than Britain holds its native elections on May 5.
The poll is seen as pivotal for Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who’s already going through a voter backlash over lockdown-breaking events in authorities places of work in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Neil Parish, 65, stepped down after what he described as a second of “madness.” Parish, chairman of the home’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, stated he was attempting to take a look at a tractor web site, however stumbled right into a porn website with an identical title and watched it for “a bit.’’
“My biggest crime is that on another occasion I went in a second time,” he advised the BBC. “And that was deliberate.’’
Reports that a lawmaker had watched porn amid the historic green benches of the House of Commons triggered a flood of complaints from women in Parliament about the misogyny and sexual harassment they have faced while doing their jobs.
Long known for its boozy, macho culture, Parliament is now a more diverse place, with women holding almost 40 percent of the seats in the House of Commons. But lawmakers and staff say harassment and inappropriate behavior are still rampant under a system that largely allows members to police themselves.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Parish’s resignation should be a moment for people across the U.K. to say “enough is enough.”
“I don’t think there could really be any other outcome to what has come to light about this particular MP over the last few days,” she stated whereas campaigning in Fife, Scotland. “Watching porn on a mobile phone in the House of Commons when you’re there representing constituents is just unacceptable.”
Parish rejected the notion that he meant to intimidate anybody.
“For all my rights and wrongs, I was not proud of what I was doing,” he stated. “And the one factor I wasn’t doing, and which I’ll take to my grave as being true, is I used to be not truly ensuring folks may see it. In truth, I used to be attempting to do fairly the alternative.’’
The scandal comes at a precarious second for Johnson, who will face strain to resign if the Conservatives do poorly in the native elections.