Commons Speaker Calls For 'Radical' Reform in Parliament as MP Resigns Over Porn 'Moment of Madness'

Neil Parish, a Conservative Party member of the UK Parliament, has resigned after admitting he watched pornography twice in the House of Commons, the first time being an accidental slip while he was looking at tractors online. He described the second instance as "a moment of madness".

Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has called for “radical” reform to working practices in the British Parliament in the wake of the scandal involving Tory MP, Neil Parish, watching pornography in the chamber.

According to Hoyle, individual MPs should no longer be the employers of their staff.

“In my opinion, it is time to consider radical action, and review structures and processes that could make a difference. Some serious allegations have been made, and we must tackle them as a matter of urgency. It is imperative we do the right thing by staff and MPs as well,” he said writing in the Observer.

“I want to make sure that everyone feels they have support and somewhere to turn – and to make this House not only a safe and inclusive place to work, but a model for other legislatures,” Hoyle added.

On Saturday, Neil Parish admitted he watched adult content twice in the House of Commons and consequently resigned. The MP, who left school at the age of 16 to manage the family farm, claims the first time was accidental, and happened while he was surfing the internet for "tractors" but was guided "to a site with a similar name", whereas the second time was a "moment of madness".

"I thought I could explain to the standards committee what happened and it would be worth explaining what happened … but in the end I could see that the furore and the damage I was causing my family and my constituency and association, just wasn't worth carrying on," Parish said.

Parish, who is a member of the ruling Conservative Party, has been in the House of Commons since 2010, chairing the select committee on environment, food and agriculture for the past seven years. His resignation will trigger a by-election in the so-far safe Tory seat of Tiverton and Honiton in Devon; in the last general election in 2019, Parish secured 60 percent of the vote. Between 1999 and 2009, Parish represented South-West England in the European Parliament.

Recently, a number of damning allegations have plagued the Commons, with 56 MPs, including three Cabinet ministers, reportedly facing allegations of sexual misconduct.