Boris was warned about ‘groper’ MP twice but refused to investigate him
Alert 6wks ago... now others to complain
BORIS Johnson was warned twice of sexual misconduct claims against “groper” Tory MP Chris Pincher – but no action was taken.
The first came from his MPs in the hope Mr Pincher would refer himself to the party’s complaints procedure.
That prompted a second alert by MPs’ staffers, who set up their own campaign group and wrote to the PM about their concerns on May 24.
They did not name Mr Pincher. But after he quit as Tory deputy chief whip for allegedly molesting two men, the group tweeted: “This has come as no surprise to us. The whip should have been withdrawn immediately.
“There are serious questions surrounding the PM’s prior knowledge of Pincher’s misconduct.”
Meanwhile, the group is set to claim at least SIX staffers also have complaints against sex pest MPs.
After the May letter, the PM referred the group to Chief Whip Chris Heaton-Harris, who told them “he cannot act on anonymous speculation”. The Chief Whip’s spokesperson added: “If an MP insists no wrong on their part and there is no formal complaint it would be inappropriate to assume someone is guilty without a proper and fair investigation”.
Now Mr Pincher, 52, has been suspended from the Parliamentary Tory Party as the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme begins a probe. He also faces pressure to quit his 19,600-majority seat of Tamworth, Staffs, creating a by-election nightmare.
Yesterday Mr Pincher said he was seeking “professional medical support” and would co-operate fully with the inquiry. He admitted getting plastered at London’s Carlton Club during a Conservative Friends of Cyprus shindig, after which he allegedly groped two men.
Now campaign group Conservative Staffers for Change – led by parliamentary aides Angus McVean and Henry Dixon-Clegg, both 22 – are to meet Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle on Wednesday.
It is understood they will tell him of the six colleagues who have claimed inappropriate behaviour by Mr Pincher and other MPs.
One activist claims Mr Pincher made an unwanted advance at the 2021 Tory conference. He said: “He was drunk and cornered me at a party at about midnight, put his hand on my knee, saying I would go far in the party.”
Mr Pincher denies it. But the account was very similar to one told in 2017 by another activist, the former Olympic rower Alex Story, who dubbed the MP a “pound shop Harvey Weinstein”.
He said that in 2001 Mr Pincher plied him with whiskey, tried to untuck his shirt, massaged his neck and said: “You’ll go far in the Conservative Party.”
Mr Pincher said Mr Story’s account of the evening was wrong. But he resigned as a whip and referred himself to the police and the Conservative Party’s complaints procedure, which cleared him.
A guest at a 2014 Tory dinner said
The PM faces questions over his prior knowledge of ‘grope’ MP’s conduct...
TORY STAFFERS’ GROUP AFTER RAISING CONCERNS
Mr Pincher was so drunk he fell asleep at the table. A fellow MP texted him “to wake him up before his head fell into his soup”. A Tory peer said: “He gets hammered and does all sorts. Anyone else would have been kicked out years ago.”
Angus McVean, of ConsStaff4Change, said: “We hope to discuss with the Speaker potential reform
which would better protect people in Parliament. One reason victims don’t come forward is that they are afraid it may damage their political careers.”
His boss, former Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley, wrote to the Chief Whip demanding a code of conduct for MPs and a “zero tolerance” approach to misconduct. Henry Dixon-Clegg said: “We now look
forward to having constructive discussions with the Speaker, who has indicated his own wish for change.”
MPs say the PM was warned not to appoint Mr Pincher in February. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: “He should never have been given the job.”
But the PM’s spin doctor Guto Harri told a No10 meeting they should have sympathy for Mr Pincher because he
was vulnerable and “everyone should be thinking about how he feels.”
The Government said: “We take all allegations of this nature incredibly seriously. In the absence of any formal complaint, it was not appropriate to stop an appointment on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations.”