LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – According to No 10., prior to his appointment in February, Boris Johnson knew of “reports and speculation” regarding the alleged sexual misbehaviour of Chris Pincher, the former deputy chief whip.
Following an accusation that he groped two men, Mr. Pincher is no longer serving as a Tory MP in Parliament.
Since then, he has been the target of several historical allegations, which he refutes.
Downing Street stated Mr. Pincher was not prevented from getting the post because the accusations were unfounded.
Mr. Johnson has come under increasing pressure to disclose what information he had access to at the time of Mr. Pincher’s appointment as deputy chief whip.
Mr. Pincher resigned from his post after allegations of him groping two men on Wednesday of last week surfaced. He told the prime minister he had far too much to drink.
He lost his seat in the Conservative Party on Friday, therefore he now serves as an independent in Parliament.
Mr. Johnson was aware of allegations that were either settled or had not progressed to a formal complaint, said the official spokesman for the prime minister. They also added it was thought not appropriate to cancel an appointment solely because of unproven allegations.
The spokesman said Mr. Pincher had a lot of talents and experience for the post but declined to comment on private talks when asked if the PM had used the adage “Pincher by name, pincher by nature,”
The prime minister, according to education secretary Nadhim Zahawi, handled the accusations against Tamworth, Staffordshire, MP in the correct way.
Mr. Zahawi stated that there had been allegations in the past, certainly, but Mr. Pincher had denied them, and an investigation had concluded that they were not correct.
Anneliese Dodds, the chairwoman of Labour, has written to the PM asking for information on what No. 10 knew about the allegations.
She stated that only Boris Johnson could have considered this man’s track record and concluded that “He deserves a promotion.”
Mr Pincher is the subject of six new allegations of inappropriate behaviour dating back many years, which he has denied.
It was his second time resigning from the whips’ post. The first time was in the year 2017 after Alex Story, Conservative candidate accused him of making an inappropriate attempt.
Later, Mr. Pincher was found not to have violated the code of conduct for the Conservative Party.
Therese Coffey, the secretary for work and pensions, stated on Sunday that when Mr. Pincher was appointed to the whips’ office in February, to the best of her knowledge, Mr Johnson was unaware of any particular charges against him.
