Parliament is facing a reckoning to improve its reputation after a senior Tory admitting he twice watched pornography in the Commons capped a series of scandals.
Neil Parish bowed to pressure to say he would resign as MP for Tiverton and Honiton after viewing the material in the chamber during a “moment of madness”.
The 65-year-old select committee chair, who is a farmer by trade, said he first accidentally viewed porn after looking at tractors online before later acting deliberately.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is calling for “radical” reform to working practices after a series of bullying and sexual misconduct offences involving MPs.
Calling for urgent action, Sir Lindsay suggested staff should no longer be employed by the parliamentarians they work for to address a series of “serious allegations”.
He was considering moving to an outside body employing aides as Parliament’s reputation was feared to have hit a new low.
A lot of people have picked up on the tractor excuse and made some amusing comments on social media:
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