Gary Lineker's joke about a Tory MP watching porn was the Laugh of the Day

A Conservative MP has provided the biggest talking point of the day on social media after allegedly watching pornography on his phone in the House of Commons.

A female minister said she was sat next to the unnamed colleague and the unidentified man was reported to a parliamentary watchdog.

While the incident should not be taken lightly – especially when misogyny in politics is under heightened scrutiny – but that hasn’t stopped social media users everywhere having a say on the issue.

And, in many cases, cracking the odd joke.

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Gary Lineker, who is never shy of reacting to breaking news with a well-timed quip, was the quickest on the draw – and provided the Laugh of the Day.

Responding to a tweet about the story from the Independent, Lineker wrote: “Mass debating in the House is common.”

He wasn’t alone in cracking jokes, with Richard Herring writing: “Can’t believe it was a front bench minister. What does he think the back benches are for?”

Jim Felton added: “You’d think that for £82,000 a year plus expenses at the very least we could expect them not to crank one out in parliament.”

Comedian Sooz Kempner also said: “Imagine having the gall to watch porn on your phone in the House of Commons."

She addd: “3 years ago I was watching Frasier on my laptop on a train and Frasier and a woman started kissing and I briefly worried anyone passing by would think I was watching porn.”

A spokesperson for chief Tory whip Chris Heaton-Harris said the claim would now be referred to parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), the watchdog set up in the wake of the Me Too movement.

“Upon the conclusion of any ICGS investigation the chief whip will take appropriate action,” said the spokesperson for the chief whip.

Home Office minister Rachel Maclean said the Tory MP who allegedly watched porn in the chamber should be expelled from the party, if the claims are correct.

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