Coffey: PM didn’t know about Pincher claims
BORIS Johnson did not know “specific claims” about Chris Pincher before appointing him deputy chief whip, a Cabinet minister has argued despite numerous sexual misconduct allegations.
Therese Coffey battled to defend the Prime Minister yesterday over his decision to give the MP who has been stripped of the Conservative whip a key ministerial role.
Former No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings alleged that Mr Johnson had referred to the MP as “Pincher by name, pincher by nature” long before appointing him in February.
The MP for Tamworth in Staffordshire quit as Tory deputy chief whip after he was accused of drunkenly groping two men at a private members’ club in London this week.
The Prime Minister only bowed to pressure to remove the whip from his ally, meaning he is now sitting in the Commons as an independent, after an official investigation was launched.
Mr Pincher had already quit the whips’ office in 2017 after a complaint that he had made an unwanted pass at former Olympic rower and Conservative candidate Alex Story.
At the time a young Tory activist, Mr Story alleged that year that the MP untucked the back of his shirt, massaged his neck and whispered “You’ll go far in the Tory Party”.
Ms Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, was dispatched to defend the Prime Minister over what he knew and when.
“I am aware that the Prime Minister was not aware of specific claims that had been made,” she told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday. “I don’t believe he was aware, that’s what I’ve been told today.”
She said she is not “part of the general chatter, rumour mill discussions” and was unaware of concerns about Mr Pincher, but added: “I don’t believe he’s been in a longterm relationship.”
Ms Coffey said “the leadership qualities of the Prime Minister are very evident” when questioned about Mr Johnson setting the standards amid Tory sleaze scandals.
She said she could only be sure “to the best of my knowledge” that Mr Johnson was not aware of specific allegations about Mr Pincher, conceding she had not spoken to the Prime Minister on Sunday.
The minister told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme that she had received assurances from “somebody from the No 10 press office”.
Fresh allegations emerged as Mr Pincher said he is seeking “professional medical support” and hopes to return to represent his constituents “as soon as possible”.
The Mail on Sunday alleged he threatened to report a parliamentary researcher to her boss after she tried to stop his “lecherous” advances to a young man at a Conservative Party conference.
The Sunday Times alleged he made unwanted passes at two Conservative MPs in 2017 and 2018 - after his first resignation as a whip.
A Tory MP told the Independent he was groped on two occasions by Mr Pincher, first in December 2021 and again last month.
Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said elements of Ms Coffey’s defence were “desperate”.
“It’s clear from what we know this morning that Chris Pincher should never have been put back into the whips’ office,” the Labour MP told Ridge.
Mr Pincher did not respond to requests for comment on the latest allegations, but the newspapers behind them said he denied the claims.
Tory MP Craig Whittaker indicated that he left his role in the whips’ office in February because of health issues rather than in opposition to Mr Pincher’s appointment, as reported by the Sunday Telegraph.