One of the two men alleged to have been drunkenly groped by former Deputy Head Whip Chris Pincher last night spoke of his anger at the alleged attack.
The man, in his 20s, has accused Pincher of gripping his buttocks and then moving his hand on his groin after the MP bought drinks at a bar.
4
4
He revealed that Tory whip Sarah Dines had witnessed the alleged attack at the Carlton Club, the original home of the Tory party in St James’s, central London.
Fellow conservative Mark Fletcher then threw Pincher, 52, out of the room after seeing him stagger across the room, it was alleged.
Pincher stepped down from his government post on Thursday, just hours after the alleged incident before Boris Johnson decided Friday to suspend the whip pending an investigation.
His alleged victim said anonymously: “I had my drink in my hand and then he went down and grabbed my ass and then slowly. † † moved his hand along the front of my crotch.
“I froze a little bit and it ended after about two or three seconds.”
He said Dines, who he said witnessed the alleged incident, then asked him if he was gay.
The man told The Sunday Times: “I was a little surprised by that and said, ‘What does that have to do with it? But yes, that’s me. And her words were, “Well, that doesn’t make it easy.” She’s seen everything, that’s why I’m so angry.”
He added: “I said maybe that happened in the 1970s and 1980s, but it’s not okay now. She [Dines] agreed and said she had sons and that is why she would never let them work in parliament.”
The man has demanded that Chief Whip Chris Heaton-Harris investigate his complaint.
Meanwhile, Pincher denied the charges last night or any suggestion that he was acting improperly.
It comes as two Tory MPs have alleged that Pincher, the MP for Tamworth, Staffs, had been making unwanted passes to them in 2017 and 2018 since 2010 in 2017 and 2018. He now sits as an independent MP and is under pressure to resign.
STAY OUT
CHRIS Pincher will not appear in the Commons for the foreseeable future, it turns out.
CHRIS Pincher will not appear in the Commons for the foreseeable future, it turns out.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle was assured by the MP, who stepped down as the Tory’s deputy head whip, will not appear in parliament buildings.
Unions have previously called for all MPs accused of sexual misconduct from Westminster to be banned from Westminster while the investigation continues. They want the Commons’ working practices to be investigated so they can tighten up the current voluntary ban on MPs under investigation.
The trade union Prospect wrote to Karen Bradley, chair of the procedure committee, that Parliament “is being brought into the 21st century as an employer”.
Pincher had resigned from a whip in 2017 after he was accused of making a pass on Olympic rower Alex Story. He referred the incident to police and was acquitted in a Tory investigation.
He is also said to have once put his hand on the knee of a young Tory activist and told him he would “go far in the party”. I denied it.
It has also been revealed that the Prime Minister referred to him as “Pincher by name, pincher by nature”.
No10 insisted Johnson was “unaware” of specific allegations before appointing Pincher, but his former chief aide, Dominic Cummings, said the prime minister “lied again”.
Mr Johnson suspended the whip after a formal complaint was filed and after talks with witnesses at the Carlton Club.
He is said to have found the report “sufficiently disturbing”, which made him feel “more alarmed”.
Last night, it emerged that Pincher was seeking “professional medical support” and had vowed to cooperate with the investigation into the allegations.
He said he had been facing “stress” in the past few days and accepted that he would benefit from help. He is the fifth Tory MP to be suspended, expelled or banned from parliament in the past six months.
4
4
DELAY ‘UNFAIR’
DOWNING Street was charged with “double standards” for the delay in revoking Chris Pincher’s whip compared to ex-MP Neil Parish of tractor porn.
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said the past few days had been “bad” for those who want to “maintain confidence in the Prime Minister”.
Parish has previously said that the “first thing” ministers did to him was to withdraw the whip. Rebel MP, Mr Bridgen, told the BBC: “Neil was a very independent-minded backseat. I never really sought support.
“Chris Pincher is seen as an arch-loyalist and I think for most people that will be the reason for the difference in treatment.”