Number 10 admits Johnson was aware of sex pest ‘speculation’ around Chris Pincher
Number 10 has admitted Boris Johnson was aware of “reports and speculation over the years” that Chris Pincher had a history of alleged sexual misconduct, before he hired him as deputy chief whip.
Johnson’s official spokesman said that “in the absence of any formal complaint it wasn’t deemed appropriate to stop the appointment because of any unsubstantiated allegations”.
Pincher resigned on Thursday as Johnson’s deputy chief whip – a position responsible for party discipline – after he allegedly groped two men at an event last week.
He was previously accused of sexually harassing a Labour MP in 2017 and of making unwanted sexual advances toward an Olympic rower in the same year, however the Tory HQ found that he had not breached the part’s code of conduct.
Pincher had the Tory whip suspended on Friday, after it was initially decided he would be able to remain in the party, and is the subject of a parliamentary investigation.
A string of further allegations of sexual misconduct have emerged over the weekend, with as many as 13 people making accusations against the MP.
Former Number 10 aide Dominic Cummings said that Johnson once referred to the MP as “Pincher by name, pincher by nature”.
Pincher was appointed as deputy chief whip in February this year, and was a housing minister before that.
“At the time of the appointment, the Prime Minister was not aware of specific allegations,” Johnson’s spokesman told journalists.
“In the absence of any formal complaint it wasn’t deemed appropriate to stop the appointment, because of any unsubstantiated allegations.
“As had been reported before, he was aware there had been reports and speculation over the years with regards to this individual. But there was no specific allegation, there was no formal complaint at that time.”
Pincher’s case is the latest in a string of recent sex scandals that have involved Conservative MPs.
Former Wakefield MP Imrad Ahmad Khan was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy, while an unnamed Tory MP was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault.
Former Tiverton and Honiton MP Neil Parish was forced to quit, after he was caught out watching pornography on multiple occasions in the House of Commons – he claims it was an accident and that he was searching for Dominator tractors.