MP Neil Parish, chair of the environment, food and rural affairs committee, has had the Tory whip suspended while he is investigated for allegedly watching pornography in the Commons.
“Having spoken to the chief whip this afternoon, [Mr] Parish is reporting himself to the Standards Committee of the House of Commons,” a spokeswoman for Tory chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris told reporters. “Mr Parish has been suspended from the Conservative party whip pending the outcome of that investigation.”
It follows calls from various Labour officials for the Conservatives to take immediate action against the MP, whose name was kept under wraps until this afternoon. Labour chair Anneliese Dodds said earlier it was “inexplicable” that nothing had been done. “Boris Johnson needs to take action today,” she added.
The allegations against Mr Parish were brought about by a female colleague earlier this week, when she told Mr Heaton-Harris that she had been sat next to a male colleague inside the chamber when she noticed he was watching adult content on his mobile phone.
