The Conservative deputy chief whip has resigned after admitting he had “embarrassed myself and other people” following reports that he drunkenly groped two men at a private club.
It is the latest in a series of allegations of sexual misconduct by Tory MPs and will put further pressure on Boris Johnson to clean up the culture in Westminster. It is also the second time that Pincher has resigned from the whips’ office following allegations made against him, raising questions about Johnson’s judgment in promoting him to a role in charge of MP discipline and pastoral affairs.
The government had no comment on the allegations about his behaviour but he is not thought to be losing the Conservative whip after taking the decision to step down. Pincher has not issued any comment on the allegations of groping two men.
The victims were said to be two staffers, and multiple MPs who witnessed the alleged groping messaged chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris to demand a meeting after the incident.
The MP for Tamworth previously stood down from the whips’ office in 2017 after he was reported by the Mail on Sunday as making an unwanted pass at the former Olympic rower and Conservative activist Alex Story. The alleged incident reportedly took place with Pincher dressed in a bathrobe at his London home.
Boris Johnson’s government has been hit by a string of sexual misconduct scandals in recent months.
Last month, an unnamed Conservative MP was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault offences spanning seven years between 2002 and 2009. He was later bailed without being charged, pending further inquiries.
Imran Ahmad Khan, the Conservative MP for Wakefield, was found guilty in April of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy after plying him with gin at a party in 2008. Khan assaulted the boy in Staffordshire in January 2008, 11 years before he became an MP. He resigned as an MP two weeks after he was found guilty.
Neil Parish, the Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton, also stood down in April after admitting to watching porn on his phone in the House of Commons, with the party subsequently losing its huge majority in the seat to the Liberal Democrats.
Another Conservative MP, David Warburton, lost the whip after the Sunday Times reported he was facing allegations from three women.
Rob Roberts, the Conservative MP for Delyn, was allowed to rejoin the party despite an independent investigation finding that he sexually harassed a junior member of staff.
The Tories in government are now notorious for Covid law-breaking, bullying, lying, corruption, cronyism, nepotism and sexual misconduct (have I missed anything?).
It reminds me of the decadence of the Roman Empire and the perverse pleasures and law breaking allowed to those with absolute power
When the country and his party don’t get rid of, or discipline, a leader who has broken the laws of the country and lied about it to Parliament it muddies the difference between right and wrong
If no line is drawn between right and wrong and the PM is seen to get away with his behaviour, then it’s going to encourage others to see if they can get away with things too
It’s only fear of getting caught out and punished that keeps people with no morals like Johnson, and maybe these two, in line
And if you remove that link with bad behaviour and crime always having consequences by letting the PM get away with it because it’s convenient for his self-serving party members and supporters, then it encourages other people to chance their arm
Which is why having an a amoral, lying, self-serving lawbreaker as leader is bad for the country
Labour’s Yvette Cooper called for his suspension whilst the “really serious” allegations are formally investigated. “This is about sexual assault,” she added.
Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “Given the seriousness of these allegations, it’s difficult to see how Chris Pincher can continue as an MP. There now needs to be a full investigation and in the meantime Chris Pincher should have the Conservative whip withdrawn.”
Simon Hart, Secretary of State for Wales, warned against rushing any probe, saying it could be it “counter-productive”. “It is absolutely proper that they (The Chief Whip’s Office) spend today going through this with a fine tooth comb,” he told the Today programme.
I think Chris Pincher should be probed after the fine tooth-combing …
So you think that makes it okay for the Tory deputy chief whip to go round in a drunken state groping men, do you? Would you not mind a man’s hand fiddling about in your pants as long as it wasn’t his left hand?
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