English MP ‘sorry’ for playing Candy Crush in House of Commons

A Tory MP has apologised “unreservedly” for playing games on his iPad during a select committee hearing, as the UK’s House of Commons authorities launched a mole hunt for whoever caught him on camera.

A House of Commons spokesman said the photography broke strict parliamentary rules. Taking such unauthorised images can lead to individuals being barred from the estate.

“This was a breach of the filming rules for House of Commons Committee Rooms, and will be investigated by the Serjeant at Arms,” a spokesman said.

The committee met last Monday and was discussing pensions and the insurance industry ahead of the chancellor’s Autumn Statement announcement.

Photographs published by The Sun showed Nigel Mills enjoying online game Candy Crush Saga during a Work and Pensions Committee evidence session.

The Amber Valley MP, who has been issued with a tablet at the taxpayers’ expense, initially told the newspaper he would merely “try” not to be diverted by the game again.

But in a statement this afternoon he said: “I apologise unreservedly for my behaviour at the committee meeting and realise it fell short of what is expected of a Member of Parliament.

“I guarantee it will not happen again. It is a fantastic privilege to represent Amber Valley and I hope constituents will continue to support my campaigns such as lower taxes for hardworking people.”

British prime minister David Cameron described Mr Mills as a “hardworking” politician, adding that he was sure he would “work even harder in future”.

One of Mr Mills’s senior Tory colleagues, Sir Edward Leigh, has reportedly suggested that he was only trying to “keep himself awake” during a boring committee meeting.

Candy Crush Saga is a free-to-download mobile game, but users pay extra for more moves to improve their score.

Having started out on social network Facebook, it moved on to mobile devices in 2012, and is now played more than a billion times a day, according to developer King.com.

PA