The infamous Tory MP Neil Parish, who resigned on Saturday after admitting to watching pornography twice in the House of Commons, appears to have committed a crime that carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison, Labor said.
Parish, who has been the safe seat of the western side of Tiverton and Honiton since 2010, said it was the first time he had watched porn on his mobile phone with other lawmakers, including women, by accident.
But in an emotional interview announcing his resignation, in which he was close to tears, he said his “biggest crime” was to do it again – this time deliberately and in what he called a “moment of madness” – while waiting to vote.
Explaining what happened, Parish, who also runs a farm, told BBC Politics South West: “It was like this – funny as it was, I was looking at tractors. I came across another website with a very similar name and watched it for a while, which I shouldn’t have done.
“But my crime – the biggest crime – is that I entered a second time.
Asked if it was intentional, he admitted: “It was intentional … it was sitting and waiting to vote on the side of the hall.” Parish added: “I will have to live with this for the rest of my life. I made a huge terrible mistake and I am here to tell the world. “
Jess Phillips, Labor’s shadow minister for domestic violence and defense, said Parish appears to have committed a crime “by his own admission”. Photo: ParliamentTV
The dramatic resignation, after a week of ominous allegations of lawmakers’ behavior, comes just days before Thursday’s local elections in the UK, seen as a key test of Boris Johnson’s ability to survive as prime minister after Partygate and other scandals.
Leaving Paris is now paving the way for a second election battle this summer for the Tories as Johnson fights for his political life.
Last night, Jess Phillips, Labor’s shadow minister for domestic violence and defense, said Parish “by his own admission” appears to have committed a crime under the 1981 Act of Indecent Display.
The law states that: “If an indecent issue is raised in public, the person making the demonstration and any person causing or allowing the demonstration will be guilty of a crime.”
He added: “Any material which is displayed in or in a way that is visible from any public place shall, for the purposes of this section, be considered as publicly displayed.
Punishments range from a fine to two years in prison.
Phillips, who said the law was not widely known and therefore not often applied, told the Observer: “If this law was to be enforced, it appears that he committed a crime of his own accord.
Phillips said Labor would now ask for a full review of the law and how many charges have been filed against it. She said a public information campaign was urgently needed to enable people to understand that watching porn where others could see it was already illegal, including on public transport.
Phillips said: “There are many laws in the statutes that aim to protect women and girls in society, but they have not been passed. They are very rarely performed properly.
“People don’t know they can complain about it. What we will do now is check where the charging took place and where it did not [under this law]such as in transport networks, where people watch it on the bus next to you. ”
She added that raising awareness of the act would not be enough, but accusations should be made to demonstrate to people that watching pornography in public is completely unacceptable and will lead to prosecution.
On Friday, Parish referred to Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Catherine Stone for an investigation, but said he would only resign if convicted. He said yesterday that he had changed his mind after realizing the pressure he was putting on his family and the damage he was doing to his party.
Parish was identified and stripped of his whip on Friday afternoon after two colleagues claimed last week that he had seen him watch adult content on his phone while sitting near them in the room.
Although Parish retained his seat in Tiverton and Honiton with a majority of more than 24,000 in 2019, now the Liberal Democrats will certainly pour resources into the midterm race there as they struggle to recover as a force in the West.
The Tories are already preparing for an even tougher election test at Wakefield’s Red Wall headquarters after Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan resigned after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008.
Labor has held Wakefield since the 1930s, while Hahn took the seat in the 2019 general election with a majority of 3,358.
Writing in the Observer, Commons President Lindsay Hoyle called for a radical overhaul of Westminster work practices following a series of scandals involving sexual harassment and harassment.
Commons officials have been pushing for a major overhaul for some time. They expressed concern that the independent complaints and grievance scheme set up after sexual harassment and allegations of harassment remained a complex, slow and often frightening process. In the last three years, the service has considered 43 complaints against MPs. It is assumed that the number for the current year is similar to last year’s 15 deputies.
Hoyle is working to form a “conference of speakers” – essentially an inter-party commission – to consider rapid reforms and support major repairs. Such a conference was last convened in 2008 to consider the representation of women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities in Municipalities. The Commission will hear expert evidence before finalizing reforms. It must be officially approved by the government and municipalities.
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