Parish told the BBC the first time he saw the explicit footage was in an accident after searching for farm vehicles online. The second time was intentional and a “moment of madness,” said the 65-year-old.
Johnson’s government is currently embroiled in numerous scandals, just days before the crucial local elections. The Prime Minister himself has been fined by police for breaking his own Covid rules during the 2020 lockdown and faces an investigation into whether he misled Parliament about parties at Downing Street.
And last week his party was accused of having a serious misogyny problem after one of his backbenchers anonymously told a newspaper that Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the opposition Labor Party, distracted Johnson in the House of Commons by crossing and uncrossing her legs , similar to Sharon Stone’s character in the movie Basic Instinct.
Parish admitted on Saturday that his behavior in Parliament was “completely wrong”. “The situation was that I was oddly looking at tractors. And so I came across another website with a very similar name. And I watched them for a while, which I shouldn’t have.”
“My biggest crime is that I went in a second time on another occasion. And that was on purpose.”
He described it as a “moment of insanity and also completely wrong”.
The local Conservative Association of Politicians in Tiverton and Honiton in the west of England said in a statement on Saturday: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank Neil Parish for his service to our communities over the past 12 years. We support his decision to step down.” as our MP dejected.”