Ex-Tory MP caught watching explicit video says he might stand at next election
A disgraced former Conservative MP who quit after he was caught watching pornography in the House of Commons has said he's considering running in the next election.
Neil Parish resigned from his Tiverton and Honiton seat last spring after admitting that he was the politician other MPs had seen watching X-rated material in Parliament.
But despite his shameful departure, Mr Parish has said he still has "unfinished business" in Westminster.
In April 2022, two female colleagues of the former Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee chairman had spotted him viewing adult content on his phone while near them.
As a result, Mr Parish was suspended from the Conservative party and later quit his role.
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Neil Parish was spotted watching pornography while in the CommonsHe claimed that he had accidentally viewed the explicit footage while searching for tractors.
But he also said that after mistakenly getting onto an explicit website he also watched the video deliberately a second time while in the chamber.
During an interview with Time Radio, Mr Parish was asked whether he would consider standing for election again
He responded: “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 don’t really want to leave it there.”
The former MP claimed he had been trying to search for tractors (Facebook)His departure from the once Conservative safe seat resulted in a by-election that saw the Liberal Democrats snatch the Tiverton and Honiton constituency.
They were able to overturn a Tory majority of over 24,000 in a 38-point swing in June 2022.
The constituency's boundaries are likely to be changed under Boundary Commission proposals due to be finalised later this year, which would see the seat renamed Tiverton and Minehead.
Mr Parish said that the new seat “comes very close to my farm” and that he would “very much consider standing there at the next general election”.
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A date has not yet been set for the next election but it's due to take place before 2025.
He says he would run as a Conservative or Independent candidate (BBC)Mr Parish said he would still run as a Conservative candidate if given the chance.
He added: “I shall offer my services to the 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 the political parties.”
He called the incident a 'terrible mistake' (Getty Images)The shamed politician also admitted to feeling “great regret” at the circumstances of his resignation from Parliament.
He called it a "terrible mistake", adding: “The shame of it is that you go out basically being seen as a sleazeball.
“And you can understand why people would think that. So yes, there is shame.
“But once you’ve made a mistake, once you’ve admitted a mistake and once you’ve resigned over it, I think then you do dwell on it for a while, but then, after that, you move on.”
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