Neil Parish: A former farmer with a passion for the countryside

The MP who watched pornography in Parliament has a strong interest in farming, the countryside and animal welfare issues.

Former farmer Neil Parish, 65, who has represented the Devon constituency of Tiverton and Honiton since 2010, said he had been looking at tractors online when he got into a website “with sort of a very similar name”.

He said the second time he viewed porn in Parliament was while he was sitting waiting to vote on the side of the Commons chamber, in a “moment of madness”.

Mr Parish is the chairman of the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

Before entering politics, Mr Parish managed the family farm in Somerset after leaving school at 16.

He was elected to the European Parliament in 1999 representing the South West of England and Gibraltar region.

Mr Parish did not stand for re-election in 2009 having already been selected as the Conservative candidate for Tiverton and Honiton at the 2010 general election.

He had a majority of 24,239 over the Labour Party.

Mr Parish is married to Sue, who he employs as a junior secretary, and they have two children, Jonathan and Harriet, and two grandchildren.

His leisure interests include music and swimming.