Tory Neil Parish has this afternoon confirmed that he will resign as an MP after admitting to twice watching pornography in Parliament

Tory Neil Parish has this afternoon confirmed that he will resign as an MP after admitting to twice watching pornography in Parliament.

The 65-year-old select committee chair, who is a farmer by trade, said he first accidentally viewed the x-rated video after looking at tractors online.  

Mr Parish struggled to hold back tears as told how in a ‘moment of madness’ he then deliberately watched the x-rated video a second time while he was sitting waiting to vote on the side of the Commons chamber.

The married father-of-two had previously vowed to continue as the MP for Tiverton and Honiton after it was revealed he was the politician seen watching porn by two Conservative colleagues, but finally bowed to pressure to resign this afternoon.

He said in an interview with BBC South West that he recognised the ‘furore’ and ‘damage’ he was causing his family and his constituency in Devon before deciding ‘it just wasn’t worth carrying on’.

‘The situation was, funnily enough it was tractors I was looking at, so I did get into another website with sort of a very similar name and I watched it for a bit, which I shouldn’t have done,’ Mr Parish said.

‘My crime, my most biggest crime, is that on another occasion I went in a second time, and that was deliberate.

‘I was wrong what I was doing, but this idea that I was there watching it, intimidating women, I mean I have 12 years in Parliament and probably got one of the best reputations ever – or did have.’

When pressed on why he chose to view the material in the Commons, he said: ‘I don’t know, I think I must’ve taken complete leave of my senses and my sensibilities and my sense of decency, everything.’  

‘I thought that I could explain to the standards committee what happened and it would be worth explaining what happened which I will in a minute.’

He added: ‘What I do want to put on record is that for all my rights and wrongs, I was not proud of what I was doing.The one thing I wasn’t doing and which I will take to my grave as being true is I was not actually making sure people could see it.

‘In fact, I was trying to do quite the opposite. I was wrong what I was doing, but this idea that I was there watching it and intimidating women.’

He continued: ‘Total madness.I’m not going to defend it. I’m also not going to defend what I did. What I did was absolutely, totally wrong. In the end, what do you do?’

He told the BBC that he and his wife discussed fighting it in some way this morning.

‘I was wrong.I searched my conscience and that’s why I’m here this afternoon. I’m not trying to be virtuous about it in any shape or form. I was wrong. I was stupid. I lost a sense of mind.

‘What is done is done. What I am saying is one can use process to delay and hold things up.I decided not to.’

He was suspended by the  on Friday under investigation after confirming that he was the MP who had been seen watching the material.

His resignation will trigger a by-election in the South West seat of Tiverton and Honiton in Devon which has a Conservative majority of over 14,000.

The resignation follows Parish’s wife, Sue Parish, promising to stand by her husband in an interview with the Times today.

Mrs Parish, said the incident was ‘very embarrassing’ but added that ‘if you were mad with every man who looked at pornography, you would not have many wives in the world.’

His wife of more than 40 years said their marriage would survive the scandal, claiming it is ‘all very embarrassing’.

After hearing about the allegation, Mrs Parish said: ‘My breath was taken away, frankly,’ although she defended her husband.’No. He’s quite a normal guy, really. He’s a lovely person. It’s just so stupid.’

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