The Tories are in crisis, standards are in peril. So who do you turn to for ethical advice? Step forward Neil Parish, the tractor-loving, porn-perusing former MP for Tiverton. Parish, whose constituency is now, er, represented by a Liberal Democrat thanks to his resignation, was asked for his views this afternoon on Christopher Pincher.
Barely concealing his resentment, Parish piled in on the former deputy chief whip who, incidentally, was part of the team which took the decision to suspend him from the Tories in April. Asked if the whip should now be removed Pincher too, Parish replied:
Definitely from Christopher Pincher. The first thing they did to me, and I made a huge mistake, is they withdrew the whip. There cannot be double standards: my belief is that, you know, Christopher Pincher has things to be answered for. The whip must be withdrawn, he’s got the opportunity then to go before the Parliamentary Standards Board to see what his conduct actually was. Those that were affected can also give evidence… I can’t believe why they haven’t done it because that was the first thing they did for me even though I asked for it to be sorted out privately and I just feel that it’s double standards.
Makes you wonder just what Pincher said to Parish when the latter was kicked out of the parliamentary party…
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