MPs 'plan Commons clean-up' in wake of porn scandal

30 April 2022, 23:15 | Updated: 30 April 2022, 23:19

Senior MPs are reportedly planning to clean up the House of Commons after Westminster was rocked by another scandal - this one involving a backbencher watching porn in the Chamber.

Dame Andrea Leadsom is working with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to implement an overhaul of working practises in Government, according to The Sunday Times.

Ms Leadsom, a former leader of the House and Tory MP for South Northamptonshire, told the paper the complaints process introduced four years ago has not yet led to a change in culture.

Meanwhile, Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden has said half of the party's MPs must be women after the next UK election.

Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Dowden said that the party's candidates must reflect the fact that half of the UK's population are women, and that reaching this goal would be key to tackling sleaze in Government.

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It comes after Tory MP Neil Parish resigned after admitting watching porn on his phone in the House of Commons - once accidentally, he claimed, and once deliberately.

The news reignited concern about a misogynistic culture in Westminster, which was already being discussed after a controversial article about Angela Rayner in which she was accused of distracting Boris Johnson in the House of Commons by crossing and uncrossing her legs.

Mr Parish resigned on Saturday after admitting watching porn in a "moment of madness".

The first time happened accidentally after watching looking at tractors on his phone, he claimed, but the second time he intended to view it.

"The situation was that - funnily enough it was tractors I was looking at," he told the BBC.

"I did get into another website that had a very similar name and I watched it for a bit which I shouldn't have done.

"But my crime - biggest crime - is that on another occasion I went in a second time.

"That was deliberate... that was sitting waiting to vote on the side of the chamber."

The MP said he would quit after seeing the scandal's impact on his family, constituency and local Tory association, and added: "What I did was absolutely totally wrong."

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A series of damning developments has dogged the Commons in recent weeks.

Three Cabinet ministers are among 56 MPs reportedly facing allegations of sexual misconduct that have been referred to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.

Senior Labour MP Liam Byrne is set to be suspended from the Commons for two days for bullying a member of staff.

David Warburton had the Conservative whip withdrawn after allegations of sexual harassment and cocaine use emerged.

And former Tory Imran Ahmad Khan resigned after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.

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Speaker Sir Lindsay has also called for "radical" reform to working practices in the Commons.

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.

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Writing in the Observer, Sir Lindsay said: "I believe it is time we reviewed our working practices, and particularly whether it is right that individual MPs are the employers of their staff. Should someone else - or an outside body - employ the staff, as long as the MP has the right to choose them?

"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 address them as a matter of urgency. It is imperative we do the right thing by staff and MPs as well.

"At the end of the day, 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."