Neil Parish: Disgraced porn-watching ex-Tory MP would ‘consider standing again’ at next general election

Neil Parish, a farmer by trade, claimed he was ‘looking at tractors’ the first time he was caught watching X-rated material on the Commons benches.
Ex-Tory MP Neil Parish resigned after being caught watching pornography in the House of Commons twice.Ex-Tory MP Neil Parish resigned after being caught watching pornography in the House of Commons twice.
Ex-Tory MP Neil Parish resigned after being caught watching pornography in the House of Commons twice.

A disgraced former Conservative Party MP who resigned after being caught watching pornography in the House of Commons has revealed he is considering standing again at the next general election. Neil Parish, who served as MP for Tiverton and Honiton in Devon, admitted he had watched the X-rated material twice on the Commons benches.

Mr Parish, a farmer by trade, claimed that the first time was accidental after “looking at tractors” online. But the second time he was caught, he admitted it was a “moment of madness” before standing down in April last year.

But asked by Times Radio whether he would consider standing again, the 65-year-old replied: “Yes. At the moment I just don’t want to quite leave it.

“When you leave so suddenly like I had to, there is so much unfinished business. Therefore, at the moment, I really don’t want to leave it there.”

The constituency formerly held by Parish was snapped up by the Liberal Democrats in a by-election triggered by his resignation in June. The seat is likely to be changed under Boundary Commission proposals later this year and re-named Tiverton and Minehead.

Mr Parish said that the new seat was close to his farm and that he would “very much consider” standing at the next general election, which is due to take place before 2025. He added: “I shall offer my services to the [Tory] party - whether the party will have me or not is another matter.

“But then I have the option of also standing as an independent. There’s a certain draw for me actually, to have a shot as an independent. The next general election might be one where people might be looking for something slightly different than all other political parties.”