PM ‘turned blind eye to sex pest warnings’
Fresh allegations emerge as it is revealed whip quit in disgust over Pincher’s role
BORIS JOHNSON has been accused of turning a blind eye to claims of his deputy chief whip’s alleged sexual misconduct.
As more allegations of unwanted passes and groping emerged last night, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose that the Prime Minister’s decision to appoint Chris Pincher to help oversee party discipline in February prompted the resignation of Craig Whittaker, another senior whip.
A senior government source said: “He remonstrated over Pincher’s putative behaviour. He refused to serve. There was considerable ill-feeling in the whips’ office about Pincher’s appointment.”
Last night, there were allegations – denied by Mr Pincher – that three Conservative MPs were subjected to unwanted passes or groping by the former deputy chief whip.
Mr Pincher quit his government role following claims that he drunkenly groped two men at a private members’ club in London.
On Friday, Downing Street said that the Prime Minister “was not aware of any specific allegation before the appointment was made, and there was no basis to stop the appointment”. Aides insist that on Feb 8, the day of the reshuffle that included Mr Pincher’s appointment, Mr Johnson was unaware of a specific claim put to Chris HeatonHarris, now the chief whip, and a No10 official about an unwanted pass that Mr Pincher was alleged to have made at a Conservative MP.
But government sources said that “rumours” about alleged misconduct by Mr Pincher were widely known in Westminster. In 2017, Alex Story, a former Olympic rower and Conservative activist, publicly accused Mr Pincher of making an unwanted pass at him while dressed in a bathrobe, like a “pound shop Harvey Weinstein”. Mr Pincher denied the allegation.
Last night, Downing Street did not deny claims that Mr Johnson had joked about the rumours in a 2020 reshuffle meeting, when he is alleged to have said: “He’s handsy, that’s a problem. Pincher by name, pincher by nature.”
Sources said that the widespread rumours, the 2017 accusations by Mr Story, as well as Mr Whittaker’s resignation in February, and the alleged joke by the Prime Minister, seriously called into question No 10’s defence of Mr Johnson’s decision to appoint Mr Pincher in the role. Mr Whittaker, who did not comment, has been on the back benches since leaving the Government.
Last night, a Conservative source said: “It’s really horrendous having a PM who turns a blind eye to this kind of stuff.”
Yesterday, councillors in Mr Pincher’s Tamworth constituency called on him to do the “honourable thing” and resign as an MP, saying “you can’t just go around groping people”.
Tory councillors told The Telegraph that Mr Pincher needs to consider his position and make way for someone else to represent the Midlands constituency.
One Conservative councillor said: “This is a resigning matter for him. If it was any other industry you’d immediately have to consider your position.
“You can’t go around groping people, whether you’ve had a drink or not. It amounts to common assault.”
Another Tory councillor for the borough, where the Conservatives enjoy an overwhelming majority, described the allegations against Mr Pincher as “deeply disappointing”.
Yesterday, Mr Pincher said he was seeking “professional medical support” and that he hoped to return to his duties as an MP “as soon as possible”.
“As I told the Prime Minister, I drank far too much on Wednesday night, embarrassing myself and others and I