The ministers wheeled out to respond to Chris Pincher scandal and what they said
Leading Conservatives taking to the airwaves since the Chris Pincher scandal have been repeatedly quizzed on what the Prime Minister knew and Number 10’s response to the crisis. Here is what each minister said:
Friday, July 1: Simon Hart, Welsh Secretary
Simon Hart did the morning media rounds for the Government and was unable to confirm whether the alleged assault was being formally investigated.
He said it was "early days yet" and that from the perspective of the alleged victims, it could be "counter-productive" to rush any probe.
He said the Chief Whip would be having "conversations" throughout the day and that "we might be having a very different conversation as the day goes on".
He told Sky News: "This makes me very sad, it makes me sad for everybody who's been involved in these things. It's clearly something which has gone terribly wrong. There is a process, I think it's important that the process is followed.
“I think it is entirely right that the Chief Whip and others take a view today about what is the appropriate course of action. Of course, if there are those who are victims of this or who wish to raise complaint, they can do so."
Asked whether he believed Mr Pincher should lose the whip, Mr Hart said he knew "what he would like to see happen", but that the decision was not down to him.
"Let's let today play out, let the Chief Whip do his duty today, and then I think we might be having a very different conversation as the day goes on."
Sunday, July 3: Therese Coffey, Work and Pensions Secretary
Therese Coffey said the Prime Minister had appointed Mr Pincher to the whips' office "in good faith", adding: "I’m not aware that he was made aware of, like, specific claims about any particular incidents or anything like that, no, I don’t believe he was aware. I’m not privy to the exact conversations that went on.
"I am aware that the Prime Minister was not aware of specific claims that had been made," she told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday. "I don't believe he was aware, that's what I've been told today."
"Sorry, it's still not very clear" - @SophyRidgeSky@ThereseCoffey is pressed on whether the prime minister knew about allegations against Chris Pincher before he was appointed deputy Chief Whip in February.#Ridge https://t.co/GhEVgl1st3
📺 Sky 501, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/htvURFbTe6— Sophy Ridge on Sunday & The Take (@RidgeOnSunday) July 3, 2022
She said she is not "part of the general chatter, rumour mill discussions" and was unaware of concerns about Mr Pincher.
Monday, July 4: Will Quince, junior education minister
Will Quince was doing the broadcast rounds, in theory to talk about his department's childcare announcement.
He said Downing Street had given him a “categorical assurance that the Prime Minister was not aware of any specific allegation or complaint made against the former deputy chief whip” when Mr Pincher was given the job in February.
'I don't believe, given the shocking nature of what I've read about over the past few days, the Prime Minister or any employer if they'd known about this, would have appointed Chris Pincher as Deputy Chief Whip.'
- Children and Families Minister Will Quince. pic.twitter.com/cnvAzSyleq— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) July 4, 2022
He continued: "I think these cases are hard because, like any professional organisation, you can't act on rumour or gossip. As you know, in Westminster there is a lot of rumour or gossip.
"It's why it's also so important that when people do witness something which is clearly appalling, well below the standard behaviour we should rightly expect from Members of Parliament and those who work on the Parliamentary Estate, that it's reported, and we encourage everybody to come forward and whether it's the police or the parliamentary authorities, so action can be taken like it was in this case."
Tuesday, July 5: Dominic Raab, Deputy Prime Minister
Dominic Raab was in the middle of doing the morning media rounds when Lord McDonald, the former Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service, published a letter on Twitter that he had sent to the parliamentary commissioner for standards.
In the letter, he claimed Boris Johnson was briefed "in person" about an investigation into an allegation of "inappropriate behaviour" against Mr Pincher when the latter was a Foreign Office minister in 2019.
This morning I have written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards - because No 10 keep changing their story and are still not telling the truth. pic.twitter.com/vln9FU4V50
— Simon McDonald (@SimonMcDonaldUK) July 5, 2022
Mr Raab, who was the foreign secretary at the time of the complaint detailed by Lord McDonald, said the complaint was investigated “under the Civil Service’s auspices” and it “did not recommend formal disciplinary action”.
He said: “I spoke to Chris Pincher about the inappropriate behaviour and made it clear in no uncertain terms it should desist, it must never be repeated, so did the Permanent Secretary.”
Mr Raab said he did not tell Mr Johnson about the complaint made against Mr Pincher, but he did inform the Chief Whip and referred it to the Cabinet Office propriety and ethics team.
He added that he was "not aware" of Mr Johnson having been "briefed directly” about a complaint made against Mr Pincher when the latter was a foreign office minister in 2019.
Tuesday, July 5: Michael Ellis, Cabinet Office minister
Responding to a Labour urgent question in the Commons on Tuesday afternoon, Michael Ellis, Cabinet Office minister, said: "The Prime Minister was made aware of this issue in late 2019, he was told that the Permanent Secretary had taken the necessary action, no issue therefore arose about [Pincher] remaining as a minister.
"Last week, when fresh allegations arose, the Prime Minister did not immediately recall the conversation in late 2019 about this incident. As soon as he was reminded, the No 10 press office corrected their public lines."