County MP ‘reported News the drunken antics of disgraced Tory whip’
A DERBYSHIRE MP was one of a number who witnessed the drunken antics of Conservative deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, it has been reported.
The Guardian said that Sarah Dines, MP for Derbyshire Dales, reported Mr Pincher’s behaviour, which led him to resign from his position.
Mr Pincher wrote to Boris Johnson informing the Prime Minister he was standing down, admitting he had “embarrassed myself and other people”, after reports of him groping two men in a club. Although he addressed drinking too much, Mr Pincher did not refer to the behaviour reported by Conservative MPs which is said to have taken place at the Carlton Club in Piccadilly.
Mrs Dines has been contacted for comment.
An MP present at the Carlton Club on Wednesday night said Mr Pincher was asked to leave by several people and was so drunk “he could barely stand up”.
The victims are thought to be two staffers, and it is said multiple MPs witnessed the alleged groping and contacted chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris after the incident.
In the short letter, which did not address the complaints about his sexual conduct, Mr Pincher added: “I want to assure you that you will continue to have my full support from the back benches … It has been the honour of my life to have served in Her Majesty’s Government.” The Conservative whip has been suspended from Chris Pincher after an investigation was launched into the allegations.
Boris Johnson bowed to pressure after a complaint about the MP was made to Parliament’s watchdog that examines allegations of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct. The Prime Minister had been resisting calls to go further and remove the whip, meaning the MP for Tamworth in Staffordshire would sit as an independent in the Commons.
But on Friday, the action was taken after a formal complaint was made to the Independent
Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS). A spokeswoman for Conservative chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris said: “Having heard that a formal complaint has been made to the ICGS, the PM has agreed with the chief whip that the whip should be suspended from Chris Pincher while the investigation is ongoing. We will not pre-judge that investigation. We urge colleagues and the media to respect that process.”
Mr Johnson spoke to several individuals on Friday, including a Tory MP who was with one of the men who was allegedly groped by Mr Pincher, a Downing Street source said.
“The account given was sufficiently disturbing to make the PM feel more troubled by all this,” the source told the PA news agency.