The latest sex scandal of the ‘tories’, which forced the resignation of the “number two” of the parliamentary group Chris Pincher, has fully splashed the ‘premier’ Boris Johnson, accused of ignoring the warnings about the excesses committed by his former ally in Westminster for months.
The ‘Pestminster’, as the lurid sexual episodes in Westminster are popularly known, has suddenly taken over from ‘Partygate’ and sparked heated debates in Parliament, to which Johnson himself will have to respond on Wednesday.
The political temperature has risen this Tuesday after the publication of a letter signed by Simon McDonald -former permanent secretary of the Foreign Office and member of the House of Lords- assuring that Johnson was personally informed of sexual episodes “of the same nature” committed by Pincher three years ago.
In the letter to the Parliamentary Standards Committee, McDonald has accused Downing Street of “misleading the public” about the background to the Pincher case. In subsequent statements to the BBC, the senior official has assured that several Johnson Cabinet ministers have made “wrong comments” and has demanded that they tell the truth on the subject.
A Downing Street spokesman confirmed on Tuesday that Johnson was indeed warned about Chris Pincher’s conduct, but that it was not during a “formal meeting”. Michael Ellis, secretary of the Cabinet ministry, has stressed, however, that the ‘premier’ does not remember anyone warning him about the sexual conduct of his political ally in 2019.
Chris Pincher, 52, resigned as second in the parliamentary group and was suspended as a Conservative MP last Friday, after apologizing for “having drunk too much” and having tried to grope two men in public at the very private Carlton Club in London, the same that until 2008 prohibited the passage of women.
This is the sixth sex scandal in three months in the ranks of the Conservative Party, following the suspensions of Neil Parish for watching porn on mobile in his seat in the House of Commons, and Ahmad Khan, sentenced to 18 months in prison for trying to abuse a 15 year old boy. These two losses propitiated the recent special elections in which the ‘tories’ underwent a hard vote of punishment.
The wheel of scandals began in April with the accusations against David Warburton, under investigation for accusations of snorting cocaine and trying to abuse three women. Rob Roberts has also been suspended from the parliamentary group for his “sexual advances” on a member of his staff. A sixth Tory MP, not yet publicly identified, is being investigated by police for rape and sexual abuse.
“The Conservatives are defending the indefensible,” said opposition Labor MP Angela Rayner, who has urged action in Parliament to end the cascade of sexual abuse. “Why was nothing done about Chris Pincher at the time, when he was in a sensitive national security position? Why was it not considered a breach of ministerial code? And why did the prime minister allow him to continue in the position?”
The ‘Pestminster’ has, incidentally, reactivated the movements of the rebel ‘Tories’ on behalf of ‘Partygate’. His next goal is to control the 1922 parliamentary committee to modify internal regulations and allow a new motion of censure against Boris Johnson before the end of the year.
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