The House of Commons chamber, pictured last November. Photo: House of Commons/PA Images via Getty Images
The UK Conservative Party is investigating claims from a female minister that a male MP watched porn on his phone while sitting next to her in the House of Commons chamber.The claims, first reported by UK newspaper the Daily Mirror, emerged during a meeting of Tory MPs in Westminster last night. They had assembled to discuss a culture of sexism in politics days after an anonymous MP told the Mail on Sunday newspaper that Labour MP and deputy leader Angela Rayner was distracting Boris Johnson with her legs in a Basic Instinct-style ploy.
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Three sources told the Daily Mirror that around a dozen women MPs shared accounts of alleged sexism and harassment from fellow politicians. Another female MP corroborated the pornography claim and now the Conservative chief whip, Chris Heaton-Harris, has confirmed an investigation has begun into the report. A statement from his office said: "The chief whip is looking into this matter. This behaviour is wholly unacceptable and action will be taken.''Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby tweeted that the female minister also claimed that the MP watched porn publicly on other occasions.
The Conservative MP has not been identified, nor is it known whether he is a member of the government or not.Prior to this, 56 MPs were already being investigated for 70 different reports of sexual misconduct that were made to the Parliament’s Independent Complains and Grievance Scheme. The Sunday Times newspaper reported that this includes three cabinet ministers as well as two shadow cabinet ministers. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas raised these investigations today at Prime Minister’s Questions with Johnson, asking if sexual misconduct was grounds for dismissal under the ministerial code.“Sexual harassment is intolerable,” he replied, adding that it was “grounds for dismissal.”