Since the deputy chief whip resigned last week following allegations of groping two men, Number 10 said the prime minister was unaware of specific allegations. But Lord MacDonald, who was permanent secretary at the Foreign Office between 2015 and 2020, wrote to Parliament’s Standards Commissioner saying Downing Street had made “inaccurate claims”. Former senior civil servants questions Number 10 outline what the Prime Minister knew about Chris Pincher | Politics lately Posting the letter on Twitter, he said: “This morning I wrote to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner – why No 10 keeps changing its story and still not telling the truth.” In the letter, he wrote: “The original line No 10 is not true and the amendment is still not accurate. Mr. Johnson was personally informed of the initiation and outcome of the investigation. “There was a ‘formal complaint’. The allegations were ‘resolved’ only in the sense that the investigation was concluded; Mr. Pincher was not exonerated. To characterize the allegations as ‘unsubstantiated’ is therefore wrong.” Shortly before the letter was published, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told Sky News’ Kay Burley that he was aware of the allegation when he was foreign secretary in 2019. He said he had “made it clear in no uncertain terms” to Mr Pincher that the behavior “must never happen again” and had referred it to both the civil service and the cabinet office for investigation. But Mr Raab said the investigations had not “resulted in disciplinary action” and told the Prime Minister about the incident “in recent days”. The deputy prime minister also described Mr Pincher as an “outstanding minister” and it was right that the independent inquiry was allowed to draw its own conclusions.
The full text of the letter
Five days after Mr Pincher stepped down as deputy captain, there is still considerable confusion over allegations of his behavior prior to his admission of drunkenness at the Carlton Club on June 29. Inaccurate claims from 10 Downing Street continue to be repeated in the media. On July 3, the BBC website reported: “There are no formal complaints against [Mr Pincher] were ever made.” This is not real. In the summer of 2019, shortly after he was appointed Minister of State at the Foreign Office, a group of officials complained to me about Mr Pincher’s behaviour. I discussed the matter with the relevant official in the Cabinet Office. (Essentially, the allegations were similar to those made about his behavior at the Carlton Cub.) An investigation upheld the complaint. Mr Pincher apologized and promised not to repeat the misconduct. There was no repeat at the FCO before he left seven months later. The same report on the BBC website continued: “Downing Street said Boris Johnson was not aware of specific allegations when he appointed Mr Pincher as deputy leader in February.” By July 4, the BBC’s website reflected a change in No 10’s line: “The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Mr Johnson was aware of ‘complaints which have either been resolved or have not progressed to a formal complaint’,” adding that it was “deemed inappropriate to stop a date simply because of baseless allegations.” The original line #10 is not true and the modification is still not accurate. Mr. Johnson was personally informed of the initiation and outcome of the investigation. There was a “formal complaint”. The allegations were “resolved” only in the sense that the investigation was completed. Mr. Pincher was not acquitted. Characterizing the complaints as “baseless” is therefore wrong. I know it is unusual for me to write to you and publish the letter at the same time. I am aware of the duty I owe to the target of an investigation, but I am acting outside my duty to the victims. Mr. Pincher defrauded me and others in 2019. He cannot be allowed to use the secrecy of proceedings three years ago to continue his predatory behavior in other contexts. Mr Pincher resigned as deputy prime minister on Thursday after allegations he drunkenly groped two men at a private members’ club in London earlier that week. The party whip was removed from him – leaving him to sit as an independent MP – on Friday afternoon after the prime minister bowed to pressure and a formal complaint was made to the Independent Parliamentary Grievances and Grievances System (ICGS). Several ministers have gone on air to reiterate Mr Johnson’s defense of Number 10, including Education Secretary Will Quince, who said he had been given “categorical assurance” that the prime minister was unaware of serious specific allegations. But on Monday, Sky News revealed that the prime minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, had also questioned Mr Pincher’s suitability as government whip since 2017. Labour’s shadow international trade secretary, Emily Thornberry, told No 10 “you tell us different things on different days… and as time goes on, the truth starts to come out”. He told Sky News that Johnson “turned a blind eye to any allegations because it suited the prime minister to turn a blind eye to it”, adding: “We need a country led by a decent, honest man.”
