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(based on 7 Day Print Pack)A senior Conservative MP accused of
watching pornography in the House
of Commons chamber has been urged
to resign to shield the party from sleaze
before next week’s local elections.
Neil Parish, the chairman of the envi-
ronment and rural affairs committee,
had the whip removed yesterday after
two female MPs claimed he had
watched adult material on his phone
while sitting near them.
He apparently admitted looking at
pornography, but insisted that he
would not step down as MP for Tiver-
ton & Honiton and reported himself to
parliament’s standards commissioner.
Speaking outside his house in Somer-
set, he said it “was a complete mistake
and I will man up to it, as they say”.
When later asked by broadcasters if
he had opened something on his phone
in error, Parish said: “I did, but let the
inquiry look at that. I will await the
findings of the inquiry and then I will
consider my position. I will not remain
if I am found guilty.
“I will co-operate fully with it and
then be answerable to parliament.”
Some Tory MPs urged him to quit
immediately, warning that the scandal
risked damaging the party before the
critical local elections on Thursday.
“He’s got to go and if he doesn’t we’ve
got to get rid of him,” one said.
Another senior Conservative said:
“There will be huge pressure on him to
go but as a party we have got to be seen
to be following the correct procedures.”
Parish is the subject of inquiries by
both Kathryn Stone, the Commons
standards commissioner, and the Inde-
pendent Complaints and Grievance
Scheme (ICGS). Possible sanctions
include a suspension or expulsion from
parliament.
One local party chairwoman said:
Oliver Wright Policy Editor
Matt Chorley, Jack Malvern
Henry Zeffman, Steven Swinford
Neil Parish, at his home yesterday, pledged to co-operate with an inquirySATURDAY
April 30 2022 | thetimes.co.uk | No 73771British
billionaire
bids £4bn
for Chelsea
“How do we explain this on the door-
step? I couldn’t get people to go out with
all the party stuff, and now this.”
Others called for “due process” to be
followed and for the independent
parliamentary inquiries to “run [their]
course”. A senior female minister said:
“Part of the professionalism we need in
Westminster is to avoid kneejerk reac-
tions and deal with allegations such as
these in a calm, professional manner,
just like you would in any workplace.”
The naming of Parish yesterday
ended speculation about the identity of
the MP after allegations were made by
two of his colleagues at a meeting with
senior party figures on Tuesday.
It prompted further claims of sexist
and inappropriate behaviour by politi-
cians. Yesterday Anne-Marie Trevel-
yan, the international trade secretary,
said she had been “pinned up against a
wall” by a male MP who made sexual
advances towards her. She said she had
been at the “sharp end” of misogyny
from colleagues “many times over”.
In an interview with The Times, Car-
oline Nokes, Conservative chairwom-
an of the women and equalities com-
mittee, said the party was institutional-
ly sexist and that she had been subject
to misogynistic smears and briefings for
speaking about the case.
“I know that male colleagues have
been wandering the corridors of West-
minster blaming me for leaking it,
blaming me for speaking out as if this is
something that would best be brushed
under the carpet,” she said. “By speak-
ing out about it we will be attacked,
briefed against and sniped about by col-
leagues. That’s the stark reality. That’s
what I’m facing at the moment.”
Parish is the third sitting Tory MP to
have had the whip suspended for
inappropriate behaviour. Last year Rob
Roberts was suspended after sending a
junior woman a message asking her to
“fool around with no strings”. This
Continued on page 2, col 5Go now, Tories urge MP
in Commons porn row
6 Party fears sleaze will hurt it in local elections
TOM WREN/SWNS
One of Britain’s richest men made a
last-minute move to buy Chelsea Foot-
ball Club yesterday with a bid that
would total more than £4 billion.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe made the offer to the
US investment bank that is handling
the sale for Roman Abramovich, the
Russian owner who has been
sanctioned over his alleged links to
President Putin.
Ratcliffe, who owns Ineos, the petro-
chemicals giant, was seeking to out-bid
American consortiums with an offer
that includes a pledge to invest £1.75 bil-
lion over the next ten years as well as
matching Abramovich’s £2.5 billion
valuation.
However, the move appeared to have
come too late, with a consortium led by
Todd Boehly, who co-owns the Los
Angeles Dodgers baseball team, select-
ed as the preferred bidder. The group,
which is funded largely by the Califor-
nia-based investment firm Clearlake
Capital, is on the verge of being put
forward for approval by the govern-
ment and Premier League.
Ratcliffe had hoped his bid, sub-
mitted after a shortlist of three Amer-
ican bidders had been drawn up, could
disrupt the process. The ultimate deci-
sion will come down to Abramovich.
“We are the only British bid,” Rat-
cliffe, who lives in Monaco, told The
Times. “Our motives are to try and
create a very fine club in London. We
have no profit motive because we make
our money in other ways.” If successful,
it would be the highest sum paid for a
football club.
Boehly preferred buyer, Sport pulloutMatt Dickinson Senior Sports Writer
Matt LawtonWhat
losing
half a
stone
does
to your
health
WEEKEND
Fall of a
champion
Boris Becker
jailed for
2½ years
NEWS, PAGES 4-
6 I opened it by mistake, claims Neil Parish
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