Mr Pincher had already been forced to resign from his role in the Tory whip’s office – in which he was responsible for party discipline and the smooth running of government business at Westminster – after the demand emerged this week. Now, following a formal complaint against him to parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), he will be forced to sit as an independent outside the Conservative Group. Politics Hub: Boris Johnson agrees to withdraw whip from Tory MP A spokesman for Chief Whip Chris Heaton-Harris said: “Having heard that a formal complaint has been made to the ICGS, the Prime Minister has agreed with the chief whip that the whip should be suspended from Chris Pincher while the investigation is ongoing. “We will not prejudice this investigation. We urge colleagues and the media to respect this process.” Former housing minister Kelly Tolhurst has been appointed as the Tories’ new deputy chief whip. Earlier, Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said the prime minister “thinks it is [Mr Pincher] he did the right thing by resigning and accepting that resignation.” Downing Street rejected claims the prime minister was not taking the allegations seriously enough, with Labor and some Tory MPs insisting the whip should be removed. A Number 10 source later said Mr Johnson had been asked to take further action after he had “responded” and been made aware of the formal complaint. Mr Johnson has also come under pressure to explain why he gave Pincher such a sensitive post earlier this year, amid reports he had been advised against it. The prime minister’s spokesman said it would not be appropriate to “stop an appointment based on unfounded allegations”. Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner said the prime minister had “been dragged kicking and screaming to take any action” and that the scandal was “further evidence of his appalling judgement”. Liberal Democrat leader Wendy Chamberlain said: “Boris Johnson should never have acted and withdrawn the whip. “Once again it looks like Johnson had to be forced to do the right thing.” Earlier, Tory MPs Karen Bradley and Caroline Noakes – the only two Conservative female chairmen of select committees – criticized what they called their party’s “inconsistent and unclear approach” to such incidents. Read more: PM shamed into disciplining close ally accused of pampering In a letter to Mr Heaton-Harris, they said the current approach risks causing “serious reputational damage” to the party and government and urged him to introduce a code of conduct for all Conservative MPs. MPs meanwhile urged the party to adopt a “zero tolerance” stance. “Once the investigation is complete, a decision should be made to return the whip, but in the meantime anyone subject to such an investigation should not be allowed to sit as a Conservative MP and represent the party in any capacity,” they said. Pincher, 52, stepped down from his role as deputy chief whip on Thursday and apologized after admitting he had “too much to drink” and “embarrassed myself and other people” on a night out. Pincher “groped two men in front of others” at the Carlton Club in the St James area of central London, a government source told Sky News. One of those fondled is an MP and the second may also be a member of parliament, the source added. Sky News was told the episode had added to the number of Tories who have lost faith in the Prime Minister – on top of the 148 who handed down a censure verdict in a bruising rebellion last month. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:54 Ex Tory MP: Double measures against Pincher Meanwhile, Neil Parish – whose resignation as an MP after admitting to watching pornography in the House of Commons led to the Lib Dems scuppering the Tory by-elections in Tiverton and Honiton – accused the party of “double standards”. Mr Parish told Sky News that after Mr Pincher helped organize the Prime Minister’s survival of a no-confidence vote “the chief whip, the Prime Minister and everyone was involved in trying to save Christopher Pincher, while Neil Parish was completely expendable”. . At the last election, Mr Pincher returned to his seat of Tamworth with a majority of more than 19,000 and this could be vulnerable if he quits, following two recent crushing Tory defeats in by-elections. This is the second time the MP has resigned from the whip’s office. In November 2017, Downing Street said she had “voluntarily referred both to the party’s whistleblowing process and to the police”. The Mail on Sunday reported that Mr Pincher had been accused of stalking Conservative campaigner and former British rower Alex Storey. Mr Pincher told the paper: “If Mr Storey ever felt offended by anything I said, then I can only apologise.” Theresa May reappointed him to the whip’s office the following year.
