‘Pound shop Weinstein’ whip forced to resign for the 2nd time

AS a Tory whip, Chris Pincher’s role was to enforce discipline within the party.

But his own misbehaviour has forced him to quit the role twice in five years.

MP since 2010 for Tamworth in his native Staffordshire, the former IT consultant first came to prominence in Tory circles with a well-timed heckle at Jeremy Corbyn. The then Labour leader was telling the Commons what a European leader had recently said to him when Mr Pincher brought the house down by suggesting it was ‘Who are you?’.

Mr Pincher then became a government whip, with the ancient title of Comptroller of the Household, after Theresa May’s snap election of 2017.

But less than five months later he resigned in disgrace when he was accused of making an unwanted pass at a Tory activist. Alex Story said Mr Pincher persuaded him to come back to his London home then attempted to untuck his shirt, massaged his neck and whispered to him: ‘You’ll go far in the Conservative party.’

In a memorable phrase, Mr Story – a Cambridge blue who rowed for Britain at the 1996 Olympics – told how Mr Pincher then returned to the room ‘in a bathrobe like a pound shop Harvey Weinstein, with his chest and belly sticking out’.

The incident was said to have taken place in 2001 but Mr Story said he spoke out in 2017 because Mr Pincher had a powerful role as government whip.

Mr Pincher was also accused of ‘touching up’ a former Labour MP. Although he quit his role and reported himself to the police, an internal party probe the following month cleared Mr Pincher of breaching its code of conduct. And within weeks he was back in the Government, with a promotion to deputy chief whip.

It was suggested at the time, at the height of the ‘Pestminster’ scandal – allegations of inappropriate behaviour against several MPs – that he was a ‘conspicuously inappropriate’ choice.

He was appointed housing minister just before the pandemic, sparking fury when he said old people ‘rattling around’ in large homes should downsize.

He was persuaded to return to the role of deputy chief whip in February – having led the operation to shore up the Prime Minister’s position amid revelations of lockdown parties in Downing Street – again lasting less than five months.