A Tory MP caught up in an internet sex scandal is to quit the Commons – after a second woman revealed he had sent her explicit personal pictures.
In the latest blow to David Cameron after Thursday’s stunning Ukip by-election victory in Clacton, Brooks Newmark last night said that he will step down at the next Election.
His announcement comes a fortnight after he was revealed to have sent explicit photos of himself to a male reporter posing as a woman.
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Brooks Newmark (left) has announced he will step down at the next general election after a second woman revealed he had sent her explicit images, pictured with his wife Lucy
The second ‘sexting’ bombshell comes as a poll for today’s Mail on Sunday puts Ukip on a record 25 per cent – just six points behind the Tories and Labour, both on 31 per cent.
If repeated in a General Election, it would see Ukip win a staggering 128 seats, taking more than 100 from the Conservatives, and leaving Nigel Farage holding the balance of power.
When he quit as Charities Minister last month after admitting sending obscene photos to ‘Sophie Wittams’, who he thought was a twentysomething Tory PR girl, Braintree MP Mr Newmark vowed to hold on to his Essex seat.
However, his latest humiliation has forced to him to quit politics altogether. In an astonishing and emotional public confession in today’s Mail on Sunday, he writes: ‘In response to what seems to be a new text-and-tell story I am standing down as an MP at the next Election.
He was forced to resign as a minister last month after admitting sending obscene photos to ‘Sophie Wittams’, who he thought was a Tory PR girl
‘I was the man who had everything… Now my political career is in ruins.
‘I have traumatised my family and let down my constituents and my colleagues. Many will regard me as a failure. And it is true: behind the outward facade of success and achievement, I have been battling demons – and losing to them.’
In his resignation letter to the Prime Minister, the 56-year-old married father of five said: ‘The continued media intrusion into past episodes in my personal life is placing an intolerable burden on my family. I have therefore decided to stand down at the General Election.
‘I will continue to serve my constituents to the best of my abilities until that time. I again appeal to the media to respect my family’s privacy and to give me a chance to try to heal the hurt I have caused them.’
His first humiliating resignation as a Minister coincided with the defection of Tory MP Mark Reckless to Ukip and overshadowed the start of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.
Today’s Survation poll will shake Downing Street, which is gearing up for a brutal fight in next month’s Rochester by-election caused by Mr Reckless’s defection. DailyMail
