Boris Johnson has been accused of turning a blind eye to groping allegations against an MP he handed a senior role to.
Until Thursday, Chris Pincher was one of the prime minister’s key lieutenants responsible for enforcing discipline among Tory MPs.
He quit after being accused of assaulting two men at a private member’s club, admitting in his resignation letter that he had ‘drank too much’.
A string of further allegations have emerged against the Tamworth MP since he stepped down, raising serious questions about why he was appointed to the role in the first place.
According to former adviser Dominic Cummings, the PM referred to him ‘laughingly in No 10 as “Pincher by name, pincher by nature” long before appointing him’.
The Johnson ally was reappointed to the role after quitting in 2017 when he faced sexual misconduct allegations from a Tory activist.
Alex Story, a former Olympic rower, referred to him as a ‘pound shop Harvey Weinstein’ at the time but he was cleared by an internal Tory party investigation.
Mr Pincher, who denies the allegations made against him, got his old job back as deputy whip in February after serving in ministerial roles.
Mr Johnson is under pressure to explain how much he knew of the allegations swirling around Westminster when he brought him into the heart of his whipping operation.
The Mail on Sunday alleged Mr Pincher threatened to report a parliamentary researcher to her boss after she tried to stop his ‘lecherous’ advances to a young man at a Tory party conference.
A separate source told the paper the PM joked ‘that he had cornered the market in sex pests’ when noting which MPs linked to sexual misconduct rumours supported him during the 2019 leadership election.
The Sunday Times alleged Mr Pincher made unwanted passes at two Conservative MPs in 2017 and 2018, including one occasion where he allegedly summoned an MP to his office to discuss wok before making an ‘unwanted physical advance’.
An anonymous Tory MP told The Independent he was groped twice by Mr Pincher, last month and in December 2021, including in the Tory-linked Carlton Club where the incident which led to his resignation took place.
He told the paper: ‘He put his hand on my crotch and moved it around.
‘I shook my head and said no, I don’t want that, but he [Mr Pincher] just smiled… he carried on until I was able to move away.’
It took around 24 hours for Mr Pincher to be kicked out of the Tory party even after he had quit, reportedly after other MPs put pressure on Downing Street, and admitted he had ‘embarrassed’ himself.
An unnamed source who claimed they were assaulted by Mr Pincher told the Sunday Times they are ‘angered by the fact that I should feel like that, and even more angry by the way No 10 have dealt with it…I am furious’.
He added: ‘I know it sounds really silly but I felt shell-shocked when I found out they were initially going to let him keep the whip.’
Mr Pincher has denied all the allegations against him which have emerged in recent days.
Downing Street did not deny that there had been concerns about Mr Pincher before his appointment, but insisted Mr Johnson ‘was not aware of any specific allegations’.
Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey insisted Mr Johnson was ‘not aware of specific claims’ about Mr Pincher before making him Tory deputy chief whip.
She told Sky: ‘I am aware that the prime minister was not aware of specific claims that had been made.’
In a statement, Mr Pincher said he would ‘co-operate fully’ with the investigation.
He said: ‘As I told the Prime Minister, I drank far too much on Wednesday night, embarrassing myself and others, and I am truly sorry for the upset I caused.
‘The stresses of the last few days, coming on top of those over the last several months, have made me accept that I will benefit from professional medical support.
‘I am in the process of seeking that now, and I hope to be able to return to my constituency duties as soon as possible.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Mr Pincher for further comment.
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