PM was aware of Pincher concerns
BORIS Johnson was aware of concerns about the conduct of Chris Pincher when he made him deputy chief whip, Downing Street has confirmed.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said while he knew of claims which had been either resolved or had not resulted in a formal complaint, it was not considered appropriate to block his appointment.
Mr Pincher plunged the Government into a new crisis when he dramatically quit last week over allegations he groped two men at a Conservative private members’ club.
He had previously resigned from the whips office in 2017 over claims he made unwanted advances to a young activist, but was later reinstated after being cleared by an internal Conservative Party investigation.
Over the weekend, however, details emerged in the press of further claims about alleged sexual advances to men – including two fellow Conservative MPs – over a period of years.
Mr Pincher has denied the allegations to the newspapers that carried them.
However, Mr Johnson’s spokesman said the Prime Minister had been aware of the ‘speculation’ there had been about Mr Pincher over a number of years when he made him deputy chief whip last February.
“I can’t get into too much detail but he did take advice on some of the allegations that had been made, but there was no formal complaint at that time and it was deemed not appropriate to stop an appointment simply because of unsubstantiated allegations,” the spokesman said.
“He was aware that there had been reports and speculation over the years with regards to this individual, but there were no specific allegations. There was no formal complaint at that time.” The spokesman declined to comment on a claim by Mr Johnson’s former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, that the Prime Minister had referred to the MP as ‘Pincher by name, pincher by nature.’
“I’m simply not going to comment on content of what was or wasn’t said in private conversations,” the spokesman said.
At the time Mr Pincher was appointed – alongside new chief whip Chris HeatonHarris – Mr Johnson was facing pressure from Tory MPs seeking to oust him over lockdown parties in Downing Street.
The two men had run a shadow whipping operation – reportedly codenamed Operation Save Big Dog – to shore up his position, and the Prime Minister was said to have wanted them to take over the full whips office.
Labour said the Prime Minister still has questions to answer over why exactly he appointed Mr Pincher to such a sensitive position, which included responsibilities for the welfare of Tory MPs.
Shadow cabinet office minister Baroness Chapman told BBC Breakfast: “We want to know who knew what, and when and why those decisions were made.”