Rishi Sunak faces the prospect of yet another byelection after a parliamentary report on groping allegations against Chris Pincher recommended that the former government whip be suspended as an MP for eight weeks. The suspension will automatically trigger a recall petition in Pincher’s constituency of Tamworth if approved by MPs. If 10% of constituents sign it, there will be a byelection. Pincher said he had first seen the report on Thursday morning and would take time to “read it carefully and reflect on it properly”. However, the publication prompted calls by opposition MPs for Pincher’s resignation. The deputy Labour leader, Angela Rayner, said his actions were shocking. “But what’s even worse, is the way the Conservative party protected him, even promoting him despite a previous investigation into his conduct.” The report said that the behaviour of Pincher, who was the government’s deputy chief whip last summer when he was accused of drunkenly assaulting two men at the exclusive Carlton Club in London, “represented an abuse of power as he was in a position of authority”. His actions had a “significant impact” on the individuals concerned, one of whom said it had affected his health and wellbeing and caused him concern for his future work prospects. The affair was the final straw for Cabinet support for Boris Johnson, who was already battling to remain as prime minister while being dogged by Partygate. Johnson had appointed the MP to the senior role overseeing party discipline despite being aware of an official complaint about Pincher’s prior behaviour. The report is the conclusion of an inquiry by the standards committee into whether Pincher’s actions caused “significant damage to the reputation of the house”. Pincher, who resigned from his position and later lost the Tory whip, told the committee of MPs who compiled the report he did not wish to give oral evidence, but provided further written evidence. The cross-party committee, chaired by the Labour MP Chris Bryant, said it had agreed Pincher’s conduct “caused significant damage to the reputation of the government and to the prime minister who appointed him. “But this was also an egregious case of sexual misconduct in the presence of several other MPs, two of whom thought the events represented so significant a breach of acceptable behaviour that they raised the matter immediately with the chief whip and provided witness statements. “It is therefore self-evident that Mr Pincher’s conduct, which led to extensive public commentary in the media regarding the reputation and integrity of all MPs, had a significant negative impact on the reputation of the whole house.”
The committee found a number of aggravating factors: Pincher’s senior role, the impact of his behaviour on the individuals, the fact that there was more than one instance of his behaviour on the evening in question, and his heavy intoxication. Pincher had denied his conduct caused significant and lasting damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons – breaching paragraph 17 of the 2019 code – and maintained he was speaking at the event in his capacity as a former minister, rather than as an MP. However, the committee found it was irrelevant whether he was invited to speak at the Carlton Club as a current member of the government, a former minister, or a serving MP. Any of these would form a part of his “public life” and therefore fall within the scope of the code of conduct applying to MPs. In his first public statement after the report’s publication, Pincher reiterated an apology, adding that he had already said he would not seek re-election. “I have sought professional medical help, which is ongoing and has been beneficial to me, for which I am grateful.”