The former deputy chief whip, who resigned after the allegations, said he respected the prime minister’s decision to suspend the whip and would “cooperate fully” with an investigation into his conduct. He said he was “truly sorry” and hoped to return to his duties as an MP “as soon as possible”. In a statement, the Tamworth MP said: “I respect the Prime Minister’s decision to suspend the whip while an investigation is carried out and I will co-operate fully with him. 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.’ Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST He added: “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 seeking it now and hope to be able to return to my constituency duties as soon as possible.” Pincher has been suspended as a Conservative MP and faces an investigation by parliament’s whistleblower watchdog following the allegations. His comments came as the Conservative party and Boris Johnson faced mounting pressure on Saturday over the scandal. Shadow Defense Secretary Luke Pollard claimed parliament was not “a safe place to work” and called for higher standards in politics. “We need a wholesale change to this because, I’m afraid, parliament is not as safe a place to work as it should be for so many of the young people who work there,” the Labor MP told Sky News. “We need to set higher standards than we have at the moment, but I’m afraid the culture has been set from the top, and the Prime Minister has been very clear that the standards in public life – decency, integrity, honesty – are not there.” Meanwhile, the prime minister faced questions about why he delayed suspending Pincher’s Tory whip. Pincher resigned from his post in the Conservative whip’s office, where his responsibilities included maintaining party discipline, on Thursday. Following a formal complaint lodged against him with parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievances System (ICGS), he will now have to sit as an independent outside the group. The prime minister’s official spokesman denied on Friday that Johnson was aware of “specific” allegations before appointing Pincher as deputy leader in February. However, a No 10 source said Johnson “probably” knew about rumors about his sexual behaviour. Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s former chief aide, accused the prime minister of “lying again” and claimed Johnson referred to the MP as a “Pincher by name, pincher by nature” long before he appointed him. Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen suggested Downing Street was guilty of a “double standard” as a result of its approach to its handling of the Pincher scandal compared to that of Neil Parris, who resigned as an MP after admitting to viewing pornography in the House of Commons. The MP for North West Leicestershire told BBC Newsnight: “Neil was a very independent Conservative supporter. He never really sought patronage and held ministers to account. “Chris Pincher is seen as dedicated and I think, for most people, that will be the reason for the difference in their treatment. And this is not tolerable.” Caroline Nokes and Karen Bradley, two senior Tory MPs who chair Commons select committees, called on Johnson to implement a “zero tolerance” policy for allegations of sexual misconduct. In his resignation letter, Pincher apologized for his behavior at the Carlton Club in London’s Piccadilly. “I drank too much last night. I have embarrassed myself and other people, which is the last thing I want to do and for that I apologize to you and those concerned,” he said. The scandal marks the sixth involving alleged sexual harassment under the government of Boris Johnson, who is facing scrutiny over how much he knew about the allegations against Pincher, who also resigned from the whip’s office in 2017 after allegations that acted like a “Harvey Weinstein pound shop. “. A party investigation cleared him of wrongdoing. Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labor Party, said the prime minister had “dragged kicking and screaming” to take action. The scandal, he added, was “even more proof of his horrible judgement.”
