Another scandal has knocked on the door of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Conservative congressman Christopher Pincher, deputy head of the known “whip” position – responsible for parliamentary discipline of deputies -, resigned this Thursday (30) after allegations of sexual harassment came to light.
Anonymous sources told several British media outlets that Pincher had sexually harassed two men, one of them a deputy, at a private club in central London this week. The opposition and also some conservative lawmakers are demanding that Pincher’s parliamentary term be revoked.
Boris, however, said through a spokesman that he considered the matter closed after the resignation and said he was unaware of any complaints about the lawmaker’s conduct before appointing him. In order for Parliament to investigate it, the alleged victims would need to file formal complaints — or else, the police, if there is a crime.
In the resignation letter he presented to the prime minister, Pincher says he shamed himself and others after drinking to excess. “I owe it to you and the people I upset by doing this; I assure you that you will continue to have my full support,” he said in a message to Boris.
This is not the first case of a sex scandal in the government of the Conservative prime minister. In April, fellow conservative Neil Parish resigned after admitting to having watched pornographic films twice on his cell phone while in Parliament. Shortly afterwards, in May, another coreligionist, whose name was not revealed, was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault.
It is also not the first time that Christopher Pincher has been involved in such cases. In 2017, he was found not guilty in an internal investigation after being accused of sexually harassing former Olympic rower Alex Story. At the time, he also left the “whip” team, which he already composed.
The latest episode has raised criticism of the Conservative Party. Boris, after weeks of turmoil, was returning from important trips abroad – he participated in the meeting of the G7, a group of the main economies of the world, in Germany, and, later, in the meeting of the NATO summit (Western military alliance) in Madrid.
Caroline Nokes and Karen Bradley, two Conservative lawmakers, said in a joint statement that the party had a weak and opaque approach to sexual misconduct.
“The party and, by extension, the government are at risk of serious reputational damage with the approach we have today,” they said. They call for a zero-tolerance policy to be implemented so that all cases are promptly investigated.
The prime minister survived a month ago a vote of no confidence by his own party motivated by scandals related to the case known as “partygate”, when members of the government, including Boris, attended parties during the validity of sanitary restrictions to contain the advance of the coronavirus. .
Since then, he has promised a package of economic measures, aimed at regaining support from sectors of the party that have abandoned him, and he again suffered a defeat in legislative elections, when the Conservatives lost two more parliamentary seats. Another electoral setback for the prime minister had already been registered in May.
The conflicts that go beyond the borders of England still weigh. In Scotland, the local government has announced plans for a new referendum on the country’s independence to be held next year. London has also entered the EU’s crosshairs after indicating the breach of agreements made at the time of Brexit and related to trade protocols with Northern Ireland.
