Tony Clement returns to Parliament from 'dark valley' following sexting scandal | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

Current Conditions Partly Cloudy  4.1°C

Kelowna News

Tony Clement returns to Parliament from 'dark valley' following sexting scandal

Conservative MP Tony Clement waits to be introduced to supporters at a rally in Mississauga, Ontario to announce his candidacy for the leadership of the Federal Conservative Party on Tuesday, July 12, 2016. MP Tony Clement is breaking months of silence that followed a social media sexting scandal that forced him to leave the Conservative Party.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

OTTAWA - MP Tony Clement is breaking his social media silence for the first time since a sexting scandal forced him to out of the Conservative Party.

Clement made his first post to Instagram Wednesday since he resigned as a Conservative MP in November.

Wednesday's post includes a picture of him standing in the new House of Commons with a statement thanking his followers for getting him through the "dark valley" after the scandal broke.

In November Clement admitted he shared explicit images online with someone he believed to be a consenting female adult but who then turned around and demanded he pay 50,000 euros to prevent the images from going public.

He initially claimed it was a one-time lapse in judgement but when it became clear it wasn't, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer asked him to resign from the party caucus.

Clement now sits as an independent and says he is getting back to his duties as the MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka.

“I had a severe personal crisis and it manifested itself in the irrational behaviour that became apparent and for which I take full responsibility,” Clement says on Instagram.

He also says he was “getting the counselling I needed and working on my family life” during his time away from office.

Earlier this year, two men in the Ivory Coast were arrested and charged with trying to blackmail Clement.

The RCMP is continuing to work with the Ivory Coast’s cyber crimes unit.

—Follow @Dani_Edwards1 on Twitter

News from © The Canadian Press, 2019
The Canadian Press

  • Popular kamloops News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile