London, Europe Brief News – Chris Pincher has been suspended as UK Conservative MP following a new sex scandal involving the UK’s ruling Conservative Party.
The 52-year-old, who quit his role in charge of Tory party discipline yesterday, has faced allegations of sordid behaviour at a posh London members’ club.
One MP resigned from his post within Boris Johnson’s government on Thursday following accusations he groped two men while drunk.
Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher, who is responsible for discipline in the Conservative Party, admitted he “drank way too much” and apologised for “embarrassing myself and others” in his resignation letter.
The action to suspend the Conservative whip from Mr Pincher – which was being demanded by prominent backbenchers – has now been taken after a formal complaint about him was made to Parliament’s harassment watchdog.
A spokeswoman for Conservative chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris said: ‘Having heard that a formal complaint has been made to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, the Prime Minister has agreed with the Chief Whip that the whip should be suspended from Chris Pincher while the investigation is ongoing.
This incident — the Conservatives’ fifth major sex scandal in three months — is bad news for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has just returned from an eight-day diplomacy marathon across two continents.
