Former Tiverton and Honiton MP felt "frightened" in aftermath of pornography scandal
Neil Parish says paparazzi spent three days outside his home shouting abuse at him - and he also received a couple of death threats
Last updated 27th Jun 2022
The former Tory MP for Tiverton and Honiton says he felt "frightened" by the paparazzi outside of his house and by death threats, after he admitted to watching pornography in Parliament.
Neil Parish has opened up about his struggles in the aftermath of the scandal, after he formally resigned in May.
Speaking on LBC's Swarbrick On Sunday, Mr Parish said: "Have you had three days of the paparazzi outside of your house shouting abuse at you? It is enough to frighten anybody, and I don't frighten easily."
"I have had a couple of death threats and you have got all these cameras outside your house. And David Amess... you know, I had an office three doors down from him.
"I was not going to put my wife through this. I spent the whole three days trying to make sure they didn't have the house in full view of the cameras. I think I largely managed to succeed in that."
Mr Parish also added that the police "very kindly and rightly" took away his shotguns: "When you have blown up your parliamentary career for 12 years, you are not feeling in the best place, and they took them away for my own safety."
During the interview, Mr Parish said a few times that what he did was "immoral" but "not illegal".
Thursday's by-election in Tiverton and Honiton saw the Liberal Democrats claim victory, overturning a Conservative majority of more than 24,000.