The wife of a Tory MP who was accused of watching porn in the House of Commons has shared her "embarrassment" over the claims - but has vowed to stay with him.
Neil Parish, who represents Tiverton and Honiton in the South West, has referred himself to the standards committee of the Commons over the alleged incident, but has told he is not stepping down from Parliament, the Mirror reports.
His wife, Sue, described the claims as "very embarrassing" when she was informed he had been named as the MP involved, the Mirror reports. She insisted her husband would not watch porn in front of other people, although she backed the women who had made the allegations.
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But she warned that if women were "mad" with every man who watched porn "you would not have many wives in the world". Mrs Parish vowed to stay with her husband, saying it would be "stupid" to let the allegations come between them.
She told The Times : "It was all very embarrassing. My breath was taken away, frankly. People shouldn’t be looking at pornography. He would never just sit there with people looking. These ladies were quite right to be as (upset) as they were. I’ve just no idea what happens in these circumstances.
"I think it would be a bit stupid (to let it come between us). As I say, I’m fairly tough. You’ve got to carry on, haven’t you Although the MP's wife slammed pornography as "degrading' and "demanding", she also offered a defence of the industry by saying "it takes two to tango".
She added that there must be women willing to "pose" for the images. Mrs Parish vehemently defended her husband, insisting he was a "good MP" and a "good person".
Mr Parish has promised to co-operate fully with any investigation into claims he watched pornography on his mobile phone. Days of speculation over the identity of the accused MP ended after the 65-year-old farmer was suspended from the Tory whip on Friday (April 29).
In a statement, Mr Parish said: "Following recent allegations regarding an MP’s use of their mobile phone in Parliament, I have referred myself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards in the House of Commons. I will be cooperating fully with any investigation, and whilst it is ongoing I will continue to perform my duties as MP for Tiverton and Honiton.
"I will not be making further comments at this stage." It comes days after Mr Parish was asked about the then-unnamed MP in a TV interview - and insisted the whips would do "a thorough investigation".
