Oris Johnson was unaware of the “specific allegations” about Chris Pincher before appointing Chris Pincher as Deputy Leader, despite many allegations of sexual misconduct, the Cabinet Minister said. Insisted.
Thérèse Coffey fought on Sunday to defend the prime minister over his decision to give deprived MPs of the Conservative House of Lords the role of important ministers in the February remodeling.
Ms. Coffey, Minister of Labor and Pensions, was dispatched to defend the Prime Minister about what and when he knew.
“I know the Prime Minister was unaware of the particular allegations made,” she told Sky’s Sophie Ridge on Sunday.
“I don’t think he was aware. That’s what I was told today.”
Former No10 adviser Dominic Cummings claimed to have called the MP “pincher by name, essentially pincher,” long before Johnson appointed him in February.
Staffordshire’s Tamworth MP resigned as Tory deputy leader after being accused of drunk and groping for two men at a private member club in London this week.
The prime minister only succumbed to pressure to remove the whip from his allies after the official investigation began. That is, he is currently sitting independently in the Commons.
Ms. Coffey added that she wasn’t “a part of the general talkative, rumored factory debate” and was unaware of concerns about Mr. Pincher.
“The prime minister’s leadership qualities are very clear,” Coffey said when asked about Johnson setting standards in numerous Tory scandals.
Defending Mr. Pincher’s appointment as Deputy Leader, he added, “I think the Prime Minister has made the choices he considers best for the benefit of the government to make the government’s business successful.”
The minister also said she was unaware of the allegations that MP Craig Whitaker had resigned from the whip office because of concerns about Mr. Pincher’s actions until she read them in a telegram on Sunday.
Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Ms. Coffey’s defense element was “desperate.”
“From what we know this morning, it’s clear that Chris Pincher shouldn’t have been returned to the whip office,” Labor lawmakers told Ridge.
Pincher had already left the whip office in 2017 after complaining that he had made an unwanted pass in Alex Story, a former Olympic rower and conservative candidate.
Story, a young Tory activist at the time, claimed that the MP untied his shirt, massaged his neck, and whispered, “Go far with the Tories.”
A new claim emerged when Mr. Pincher said he was seeking “professional medical assistance” and wanted to return “as soon as possible” to represent his members.
The Sunday Times claimed that he made unnecessary passes with two conservative MPs in 2017 and 2018 after his first resignation as a whip.
Tory lawmakers told Independent that he was groped twice, first in December 2021 and once last month.
One of the recent whistleblowers said he was “shocked” by the decision not to immediately expel Mr. Pincher from the parliamentary party.
He told The Sunday Times that he didn’t want to report the incident at the exclusive Carlton Club on Wednesday, thinking “this is what’s happening in Westminster.”
“But I’m angry with the fact that I should feel that way, and I’m even more angry with the way No. 10 deals with it … I’m furious. Really ridiculous. It sounds like they are, but when I first learned they were trying to keep the whip, I felt a shell shock, “he said.
Mr Pincher did not respond to requests for comment on the latest allegations, but the newspaper behind them said he denied the allegations.
The latest allegations came after the Conservatives were hit by a series of scandals related to sexual misconduct.
In May, Neil Parish resigned as a member of Tiberton and Honiton after admitting to watching pornography in the Commons Chamber.
A month ago, then-Wakefield lawmaker Imran Ahmad Khan was imprisoned for 18 months for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
In both cases, the Conservatives lost subsequent by-elections.
A third unnamed Tory lawmaker was whipped to leave Congress after being arrested on suspicion of rape and other crimes.
In a statement, Pincher said he would “fully cooperate” with Congress’s independent grievance and grievance scheme investigations.
“As I said to the Prime Minister, I drank too much on Wednesday night and bothered myself and others. I’m really sorry for the upset I caused,” he continued.
“In addition to the stress of the past few days, the stress of the past few days has accepted me to benefit from professional medical support.
“I’m in the process of exploring it now and hope to be able to return to my membership as soon as possible.”