Disgraced Tory Neil Parish may have been searching for Dominator combine harvesters when he stumbled across pornography on his phone, allies have suggested.
The MP, who resigned at the weekend, admitted to twice watching X-rated material in the Commons, which he claimed he came across while looking for tractors.
His bizarre explanation that searches for farm machinery led him to peruse explicit content sparked widespread bemusement.
But his friends shared unconfirmed theories of how the former farmer had ended up on watching porn in the Commons.
Colin Slade, a councillor in Devon, said he heard from friends of the MP for Tiverton and Honiton that he was looking for a brand of combine harvester named Dominator.
Mr Slade told the Telegraph that he “could see” how the search could have led to inappropriate content as it is a “play on words.
However he said that the search terms had not been confirmed to him by Mr Parish.
The Claas Dominator is in fact a combine harvester, rather than a tractor, which does not tally exactly with Mr Parish's confession.
Mr Slade declined to comment further on this claim to the Mirror, but did say that while Mr Parish had done wrong and was right to resign, he was “personally saddened” by the MP’s resignation.
"I have known Neil for 12 years , I have worked with him… he’s always been very supportive of me and my family”, he said, including his daughter who became the area’s youngest councillor before dying aged 21.
"I have always known Neil as being an absolutely straight, honest guy, down to earth and very practical."
Another councillor Ray Radford told The Sun: “If he was googling combine harvesters and tractors and so on he might have stumbled across something by mistake, whether he pressed the wrong button or not, who knows?"
He added: “I’ve got no doubt it was a bit unfortunate.”
Mr Parish initially tried to cling on as an MP but he said he would resign on Saturday amid a major backlash.
He told the BBC : “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.
"My crime, my most biggest crime, is that on another occasion I went in a second time, and that was deliberate.
"That was sitting waiting to vote on the side of the chamber."
Mr Parish’s wife stood by him this weekend at the same time as signalling his career as an MP was over.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the MP "did the right thing" in resigning.
Asked on Sky News whether there is a culture of misogyny at Westminster, rejected the suggestion.
He said: "I think the problem we have is that people are working in a really intense environment, there are long hours, and I think generally most people know their limits, they know how to act respectfully.
"But there are some instances where people don't frankly act according to the highest standards.
"With Neil (Parish), I think he did the right thing. He did something which in most other professions you would be sacked for doing and he voluntarily resigned and I think his position was very difficult."
