By Ben Kerrigan-
Prime minister, Boris Johnson, has been accused of being “happy to sweep sexual misconduct under the carpet in order to save his own skin”.
Labour chairwoman Anneliese Dodds has written to the PM seeking details on what No 10 knew of the claims, as she mounted pressure on him to reveal what he knew about allegations of inappropriate behaviour concerning Chris Pincher.
“Only Boris Johnson could have looked at this guy’s record and thought ‘he deserves a promotion’,” she said.
After allegations emerged that Pincher had groped two men, the sleezy Mp resigned as deputy chief whip on Thursday, telling the PM he “drank far too much”. The following day he was suspended as a Conservative MP.
Mr Pincher now faces six new claims of inappropriate behaviour stretching back several years, which he has denied.
He had also resigned after Conservative candidate Alex Story accused him of making an inappropriate advance in 2017, raising questions of why he was not kicked out of parliament sooner.
A stream of fresh allegations emerged over the weekend, as one Tory backbencher said claims about Mr Pincher had been “swirling around Westminster for years”.
Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain laid the blame for the “sleazy toxic government” with Mr Johnson.
“He must now be forced to reveal what he knew before making the appointment,” she added.
Under investigation by Parliament’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, Mr Pincher said he is seeking “professional medical support” and hopes to return to represent his constituents “as soon as possible”.
Meanwhile, the Mail on Sunday alleged he threatened to report a parliamentary researcher to her boss after she tried to stop his “lecherous” advances to a young man at a Conservative Party conference.
The Sunday Times alleged he made unwanted passes at two Conservative MPs in 2017 and 2018 – after his first resignation as a whip
No 10 has not denied a claim by Mr Johnson’s former chief aide, Dominic Cummings, that the PM referred to the former deputy chief whip as “Pincher by name, pincher by nature” before appointing him.
One Tory backbencher said the row had “100 per cent” bolstered efforts to boot Mr Johnson out, while another said: “We’ve got the votes now to get rid of him.”
Current 1922 Committee rules dictate that another challenge cannot be held for a year after last month’s confidence vote, which Mr Johnson won despite 148 Tory MPs voting against him.
However, rebels believe this month’s elections for the 1922 Committee’s executive would seek to facilitate a compromise proposal to allow another vote, given the serious judgements about Mr Johnson’s judgment in appointing Mr Pincher.
Rebels have long been seeking to alter the rules for the 1922 Committee in what is a somewhat dodgy and questionable way of removing a prime minister, but one ministers are thinking of resorting to out of desperation.
Jenny Chapman, a Labour peer and Brexit minister, said it remained unclear what Johnson knew when he appointed Pincher, a party ally, to his role in February.
“We want to know who knew what and when and why those decisions were made the way they were,” she told BBC One’s Breakfast. “I don’t think anybody in Westminster believes that Boris Johnson did not know about the allegations about Mr Pincher.”