Did Boris Johnson know about allegations against MP Chris Pincher when he appointed him as deputy chief whip?
That is the question many have been asking – and the answer appears to be changing as the days go by.
Mr Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip – responsible for getting MPs to vote – on 30 June after allegations he groped two men the night before while drinking at the Carlton Club in central London.
Despite pressure on the PM to immediately suspend the whip (be suspended from the Conservative Party), it took until Friday evening for him to do so.
Since Mr Pincher’s resignation questions have been raised about the PM’s decision in February this year to appoint him to the post in the first place.
But the government line on what the PM knew, and when, appears to be changing.
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Here is a breakdown of what we have been told by Number 10 and ministers since the most recent allegations surfaced:
30 June – ‘No need to suspend the whip’
On the night of Mr Pincher’s resignation as deputy chief whip, a Tory source told the Daily Mail: “The PM thinks [Pincher] has done the decent thing by resigning. There is no need for an investigation and no need to suspend the whip.”
1 July – ‘PM not aware of specific allegations’
The following day, the prime minister’s official spokesman told political reporters in the daily lobby briefing: “[The PM] was not aware of any specific allegations.
“In the absence of any formal complaint, it was not appropriate to stop an appointment on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations.”
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3 July – ‘PM did not know about any particular incident’
Speaking to Sky’s Sophy Ridge, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said she did not believe the PM was aware of allegations against Mr Pincher.
“I’m not aware that [the PM] was made aware about specific claims about any particular incident, no I’m not,” she said.
“I don’t believe he was aware, that’s what I’ve been told today but you were asking more about more general rumours and I have no ideas what conversations have been had, I just am aware that the prime minister was not aware of specific claims that have been made.
“And as I say, ultimately when he resigned, Chris resigned the whip… sorry, Chris resigned as deputy chief whip and then when specific things were brought directly to the attention of the prime minister, he agreed with the chief whip to suspend the whip.”
Read more: A timeline of allegations against Chris Pincher
4 July – ‘Categorical assurance PM not aware’
Speaking to Sky’s Kay Burley, the education minister Will Quince said he had sought reassurances from Downing Street that Boris Johnson had not been aware of allegations against Mr Pincher.
“I spoke with Number 10 both yesterday and today and I asked them firmly and clearly for an answer on this and I’ve been given categorical assurance that the PM was not aware of any serious specific allegation with regards to the former deputy chief whip,” he said.
4 July – ‘No complaints upheld against Pincher’
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said no complaints had been upheld against Mr Pincher, which was why both former PM Theresa May and Boris Johnson had appointed him to government positions.
He said: “There were allegations about Chris Pincher way back in the May government which he denied, and when they were investigated they were found not to be correct.
“He was then promoted into government, he became a minister, so there were of course allegations in the past.
“On the specific allegations, the PM did not know and I think as he found out he acted and acted decisively. That’s the right thing to do, there is now due process that has to follow.”
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4 July – ‘PM was aware of media reports of Pincher’s alleged behaviour’
At Monday’s lobby briefing, the PM’s official spokesman acknowledged that while the PM was not aware of “specific allegations” before appointing him to deputy chief whip, he was aware of “media reports” about Mr Pincher’s alleged behaviour.
He said: “The prime minister was aware of media reports that others had seen over the years and some allegations that were either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint, but at the time of the appointment of the deputy chief whip he was not aware of any specific allegations.
“He did take advice on some of the allegations that had been made, but there was no formal complaint at that time and it was deemed not appropriate to stop an appointment simply because of unsubstantiated allegations.”
Morning of 5 July – Ex-civil servant claims PM knew about previous investigation into Pincher
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told Sky News a complaint had been made against Mr Pincher when the MP was a Foreign Office minister in 2019 – when Boris Johnson was PM.
“I don’t know that the PM was aware of any substantiated complaints to the extent they would trigger a formal mechanism,” he said.
“A complaint that is made when there is the evidence, and is of the severity that formal disciplinary action is taken – the allegations we talked about had not reached that level in the October of 2019.”
It was “resolved informally” and “did not trigger a formal sanction,” he added.
“The cabinet office propriety and ethics team did not raise an objection to that appointment,” he continued.
“I talked him [the PM] through in recent days what happened in 2019. My sense is – I can’t speak for what the PM knew – that he would have been aware when the wire was tripped into disciplinary action and formal action.”
Asked whether he told the PM about it, he replied: “No”
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Lord McDonald, the ex-permanent secretary at the Foreign Office when Mr Pincher was a minister there, said it “is not true” no official complaints were ever made against Mr Pincher.
He said a group of officials in 2019 complained to him about Mr Pincher’s behaviour, which he said was “similar” to the Carlton Club groping allegations, and an investigation was carried out and the complaint upheld.
Mr Pincher apologised and “promised not to repeat the inappropriate behaviour”, he wrote in a letter to the parliamentary commissioner for standards on Tuesday.
He added that Mr Johnson was “briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of the investigation” and said Mr Pincher was not exonerated.
Mr Raab later told the BBC it was “not clear to me that it is factually accurate”, adding it was “news to me”.
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Afternoon of 5 July – Downing Street admits PM knew about allegations
Pressed by journalists, Mr Johnson’s spokesman admitted the PM was informed a complaint had been made about Mr Pincher in 2019.
He said he thought the PM was told “by someone in the Cabinet Office… a number of months” after the complaint was investigated.
Cabinet Minister Michael Ellis then told the Commons Mr Johnson was made aware of the issue in late 2019 and when last week’s allegations arose the PM “did not immediately recall the conversation” but “as soon as he was reminded” Number 10 “corrected their public lines”.
