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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Rachel Wearmouth

Tory Neil Parish officially quits as MP after admitting watching porn in Commons

Neil Parish has formally quit as an MP after admitting he watched porn in the House of Commons.

It comes after the Tiverton and Honiton politician was revealed as the MP who was caught watching adult content on his phone in the Chamber.

The Treasury released a statement to say it had accepted the Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton’s resignation.

It said: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed Neil Quentin Gordon Parish to be Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.”

Appointing an MP to the position is one of the mechanisms used to allow them to resign from their office.

Neil Parish (Getty Images)

The move will trigger a by-election in Mr Parish's Devon constituency, where the Tories are likely to face a threat from the Lib Dems.

Reports emerged last week that an MP had been seen watching porn on the Commons benches.

Mr Parish then came forward, admitting that he had twice watched pornography in the chamber.

He told the BBC that the first time was an accident, claiming he had been looking for photographs of tractors, but admitted the second occasion was intentional.

He described it to the broadcaster as a "moment of madness" - adding: "I was not proud of what I was doing."

In a tearful interview, he told the broadcaster: "The situation was that – funnily enough it was tractors I was looking at.

"I did get into another website that had a very similar name and I watched it for a bit which I shouldn’t have done...."

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

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