The Sophy Ridge on Sunday presenter repeatedly challenged Ms Coffey whether the Prime Minister was aware of any claims against the former deputy head whip before he was appointed. Ms Ridge was forced to ask on several occasions whether Boris Johnson had been informed of the allegations, with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions unable to give her a clear answer. Ms Coffey stressed that the Prime Minister was not aware of any specific claims before Mr Pincher was appointed to the senior position.
Ms Ridge questioned the language the Tory frontbencher used to portray Mr Johnson’s knowledge of the allegations, saying “I don’t understand that sentence,” asking for clarification several times during the interview.
She then suggested to Ms Coffey “think you can get out of it”, while once again challenging the Minister for Work and Pensions to explain clearly how much awareness there was within the party about Mr Pincher’s situation.
Ms. Ridge said, “Why don’t you ask? I get that it might be easier to just get into these programs and say, ‘Look, I don’t know,’ but you should definitely ask to try and find out. That’s the first thing most people would do.
“When did the Prime Minister know? – so if I’m asked this question, I can give the answer.”
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Ms Coffey said she had outlined what had happened and reiterated that action had been taken against Mr Pincher.
After Ms Ridge apologized for interrupting her again in an effort to get clarity from the minister, Ms Coffey replied, “No need to apologise, I’m just going to give you the same answer Sophy.”
The former deputy head whip tendered his resignation on Tuesday after allegations emerged that he had groped two men while heavily intoxicated.
In his letter of resignation, Mr Pincher admitted that he had drunk “way too much” the previous night.
Mr Johnson bowed to pressure after a complaint about the MP was lodged with Parliament’s watchdog which investigates allegations of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct.
Pincher dramatically stepped down as deputy head of the Tory after a drunken incident in which he allegedly groped two guests at a London club.
The Prime Minister had resisted calls to move forward and remove the whip, meaning the Tamworth MP would sit in the House of Commons as an independent.
But action was taken on Friday after a formal complaint was filed with the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).