Brooks Newmark: ‘I was a complete fool’
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Version 0 of 1. A Conservative minister who resigned after sending a sexually explicit image of himself to a reporter posing as a young activist has said he was a “complete fool”. Brooks Newmark, who was the minister for civil society, was caught in a sting by the Sunday Mirror. The married father of five told the BBC: “I have no one to blame but myself. I have hurt those I care about most. I am so, so sorry. But I just need time with my family.” The scandal, along with the second defection of a Conservative MP to Ukip, has overshadowed the first day of the Tory party conference in Birmingham. Newmark, 56, tried to arrange to meet the person he thought was a young female PR worker during the conference, and sent a picture exposing himself. In his resignation statement, the MP for Braintree in Essex said: “I have decided to resign as minister for civil society having been notified of a story to be published in a Sunday newspaper. I would like to appeal for the privacy of my family to be respected at this time. I remain a loyal supporter of this government as its long-term economic plan continues to deliver for the British people.” Downing Street has replaced him as a minister with Rob Wilson, a former parliamentary aide to the chancellor, George Osborne. |