The Prime Minister is under pressure to explain what he knew about Pincher’s behaviour, amid claims by former assistant No 10 Dominic Cummings that Johnson referred to him as “Pincher by name, Pincher by nature”. Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip on Thursday after allegations he drunkenly fondled two men in a Piccadilly club. He was stripped of the whip after being referred to parliament’s independent complaints system. A further series of six complaints about Pincher’s sexual behavior appeared in Sunday’s papers, including allegations of groping MPs. There was also a report that a Tory MP, Craig Whittaker, resigned from the whip’s office when Pincher was promoted in February. Pincher denied the charges. A No 10 source acknowledged Johnson was “probably” aware of general allegations about Pincher and his nickname “Pincher by name etc”, but claimed he was unable to look into “baseless rumours” before appointing him as deputy leader in February. Speaking to broadcasters, Therese Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, insisted Johnson was “not aware of specific allegations” about Pincher but could not deny he had been told about more general concerns. Chris Pincher should lose Tory whip, says MP who watched porn in Commons – video He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “I know the Prime Minister was not aware of specific allegations that had been made.” However, Coffey acknowledged that she had not spoken to the prime minister himself. She said she had been told by the No 10 press office that Johnson was not aware of specific allegations. In a statement over the weekend, Pincher said he respected the prime minister’s decision to remove the whip. “As I told the Prime Minister, I drank too much on Wednesday night, embarrassing myself and others and I am truly sorry for the trouble I caused,” he said. “The stresses of the last few days, on top of those of the last few months, have made me accept that I would benefit from professional medical support. “I am in the process of looking into it now and hope to be able to return to my constituency duties as soon as possible.” Coffey pointed out that Pincher was cleared of a previous investigation after Alex Storey, a former professional rower and Tory candidate, accused him of making unwanted passes and behaving like a “Harvey Weinstein junkie”. Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, described Coffey’s responses as “desperate, to be honest”. “I think we have to recognize what the consistent problem is, and that is a Conservative party that repeatedly chooses to do what is politically expedient over what is right,” he said. “It is clear from what we know this morning that Chris Pincher should never be allowed back into the whip’s office.” Jess Phillips, the Labor MP and victims’ advocate, also highlighted the burden on victims of going through a formal complaints system and the lack of independence in party investigations. “The whole system that relies on victims doing all the work to get people with all the power to do the right thing is a problem. It provides cover for politicians who are well aware of the behavior of their colleagues to sit back and do nothing,” he said. “Pincher was cleared before a completely non-independent inquiry by the Conservative party,” he said. “The same system that said Rob Roberts did nothing wrong also. The same system that gave Charlie Elphicke and Andrew Griffiths the whip back.”
