UK: MP accused of watching porn in Parliament

Enlarge image

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Tory colleagues during a speech by Labor leader Keir Starmer on April 20

Photo: Jessica Taylor/AP

The conservative Tories have been mired in a sexism scandal for days.

Now media reports continue to burden Prime Minister Boris Johnson's party.

As initially reported by the “Sun” and the “Daily Mirror”, a party MP is said to have watched porn in the boardroom.

According to »Mirror«, the man is a member of the government.

Tories Chief Whip Chris Heaton-Harris has announced an inquiry into the "completely unacceptable" behavior.

According to reports, a cabinet colleague sitting next to the man witnessed the incident and reported it.

Several female Tory MPs, apparently including ex-Prime Minister Theresa May, recently asked Heaton-Harris in an internal meeting to throw the MP out of the group, according to the Sun.

Tories under pressure over more sexism incidents

The incident comes at a bad time for the Tories.

There is currently a debate raging in Britain about sexism in politics.

The "Mail on Sunday" recently reported that several Conservative MPs would accuse the deputy leader of the opposition Labor Party, Angela Rayner, of distracting Johnson during the weekly survey of the prime minister by deliberately crossing her legs while sitting opposite him.

Johnson sharply criticized the anonymous statements and expressed his support for Rayner.

Misogyny has no place in Parliament.

Rayner himself recently described the alleged allegations as "humiliating and deeply hurtful".

Over the weekend it became known that three members of the government and dozens of other members of parliament had been reported to an appropriate supervisory body for alleged sexual harassment.

At a high-level crisis meeting on Tuesday evening, several Conservative MPs described their experiences with misogyny in parliament, the Sun reported.

A spokeswoman for Johnson has dismissed allegations that the Tories have a sexism problem.

fek/dpa/Reuters