Yahoo Movies Tuesday briefing: The PM’s changing story over Chris Pincher allegations
You are perhaps expecting me to say “good morning”, but I have to tell you that – while I am aware that it has been suggested that the morning is good – it would not be appropriate for me to give a view on its goodness or otherwise at this point. As you would expect, I’m not going to get into what kind of private conversations were or were not held about the nature of the morning.
The above is obviously all meaningless, and bears the same resemblance to ordinary human communication as the Jurassic Park franchise does to Birdworld. But it is also a fairly faithful representation of the kind of language coming from the Downing Street comms team in the last few days.
This is annoying at the best of times – but when the subject matter is what the prime minister knew about sexual misconduct allegations against his former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher when he appointed him, it becomes a serious problem. And it is part of a wider situation so bad that today two unions representing parliamentary workers have accused politicians of repeatedly failing to “deal properly with sexual misconduct by one of their own”.
Yesterday, after days of alphabet soup, the language shifted again, and this morning Boris Johnson faces a damaging new claim about what he knew about a previous complaint. This morning’s newsletter will take you through what changed in the Downing Street story, and why.
Five big stories
Chicago shooting | A person of interest is in custody after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Chicago that left at least six people dead and 30 wounded.
UK news | The BBC has revealed it received complaints against Tim Westwood – including one that was referred to the police – despite previously insisting it was unaware of any concerns about the DJ’s behaviour.
Cost of living | Convoys of protesters demonstrating against high fuel prices have caused delays and disruption on motorways and main A roads in the UK, leading to police arresting a number of those involved for driving too slowly.
Brexit | Keir Starmer ruled out any return to the single market or customs union. In a major speech, he said, “with Labour, Britain will not go back into the EU”.
Protest | Climate protesters glued themselves to John Constable’s The Hay Wain at the National Gallery in London. The Just Stop Oil group, which is calling for an end to new fossil fuel licensing, covered the bucolic masterpiece with a reimagined version showing the impact of fossil fuels on the countryside.
In depth: Specifically, it’s word salad
The Chris Pincher scandal started with the news that the deputy chief whip was resigning after he was accused of drunkenly groping two men last week. But the most important question for Boris Johnson is this: did he know that there were earlier claims of sexual misconduct, denied by Pincher, when he gave him the job?
This is not complicated – but the answers have been. “The language is shifting every single day,” said Rowena Mason, the Guardian’s deputy political editor. “And yet they’re claiming that it’s all consistent. It’s smoke and mirrors.”
This morning, the Downing Street line got even harder to sustain after the BBC reported that Johnson was made aware of a “formal complaint” about “inappropriate behaviour” when he was a foreign office minister in 2019-20, a claim Pincher has not yet commented on. That seems to flatly contradict what No 10 has claimed.
Here’s how Downing Street’s defences have evolved since the story broke. Prepare for your head to spin:
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Thursday
Tory source: “The PM thinks [Pincher] has done the decent thing by resigning. There is no need for an investigation and no need to suspend the whip.”
This quote seems designed to suggest that Pincher has acted with honour over a minor moment of madness. “Throughout all of these cases, people have been very quick to dismiss and downplay,” said Rowena. “There’s a sense that this goes right up to the prime minister himself – that he doesn’t like to be seen to give in to episodes of outrage. Particularly if it’s someone who is on his side.”
***
Friday
Tory source: Pincher’s appointment was “cleared” by civil service; “the appropriate checks were made”.
No 10 source: Johnson “probably” knew of rumours; recent allegations are on the level of “somebody’s bum being pinched”.
PM’s spokesperson: Johnson did not know of “any allegations”, corrected to: “He was not aware of any specific allegations”; “In the absence of any formal complaint, it was not appropriate to stop an appointment on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations.”
You can see two strands here: on the one hand, nebulous source quotes saying that Johnson might have known about previous claims, but they had been checked out and the new story isn’t a big deal; on the other hand, a more formal tone for the spokesperson’s official line that Johnson didn’t know about “specific allegations”.
That shift from “any allegations” to “any specific allegations” tries to cast the things that the prime minister might have known as too vague to be acted on. But by the same token, it acknowledges that he may have known something about claims against Pincher in the past.
Rowena points to another crucial detail. The “absence of any formal complaint” means any being made to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), a body set up after the so-called Pestminster scandal to provide a route for complaints about behaviour in parliament.
“But that was never meant to mean that parties could disregard their responsibilities,” she said. “What we’re seeing is Johnson hiding behind the ICGS.” In any case, by the end of the day, Pincher had been suspended.
***
Sunday
Whips’ office source: a “matter” was raised about Pincher at the time of his promotion in February reshuffle.
Minister Thérèse Coffey: “I am aware that the prime minister was not aware of specific claims that had been made.”
On Sunday, we learned that a “matter” is somewhere short of a “specific allegation”. Meanwhile, Coffey does speak on the record, but while she says very little, all of it is completely weird.
While the plain English translation of her quote is that the PM didn’t know about allegations about Pincher, her phrasing leaves open the possibility of a communications problem along the way. If only there was someone who could tell us exactly what he knew!
***
Monday
Minister Will Quince: “I have been given a categorical assurance that the prime minister was not aware of any specific allegation or complaint.” Asked if Johnson knew about wider claims: “The answer to that is, I don’t know, and I haven’t asked those questions.”
PM’s spokesperson: “At the time of the appointment, the prime minister was not aware of any specific allegations being looked at. The prime minister was aware of media reports that others had seen over the years and some allegations that were either resolved or did not proceed to a formal complaint … He did take advice on some of the allegations that had been made, but there was no formal complaint at that time … He must balance someone’s skills and experience against things like allegations.”
Perhaps responding to a certain amount of hilarity at Coffey’s media round on Sunday, Quince promises that what he has heard is a “categorical assurance”. But he still can’t tell us whether Johnson knew about anything that wasn’t “specific”, because he didn’t ask about it.
Later, the prime minister’s spokesperson comes out with a set of remarks that are consistent with what he said on Friday so long as you don’t mind overlooking what he actually means.
Deep breath: by saying on Friday that Johnson “was not aware of any specific allegations” and saying that they were “unsubstantiated”, he clearly implied that Johnson had never heard credible claims against Pincher. Now, he says Johnson was aware of “some allegations that were either resolved or did not proceed to a formal complaint”. In other words, an allegation is only “specific” if it is left open - and it can be not specific even if the PM felt it necessary to take advice about it.
If this is confusing, the overall disorientating effect is presumably the point. And yet it’s hard to see that the strategy is working even on its own terms: instead of killing the story, it’s dragging it out, enraging backbenchers, as Gaby Hinsliff sets out here, and adding obfuscation to the list of possible offences. “It was obvious that it would go in this direction,” Rowena said. “And it’s a real problem for Johnson.”
Now the BBC has details of what it describes as a “formal complaint” about Pincher’s “inappropriate behaviour” which it is told Johnson knew about. If so, the last defence left appears to be that the complaint was “resolved” and “not specific”, and hence irrelevant even though it led to a disciplinary process “that confirmed the MP’s misconduct”. But on the sixth day of this story, the clarity of that distinction seems less obvious than ever.
What else we’ve been reading
Aamna Mohdin’s feature on black children subjected to racist “adultification” is shocking yet depressingly unshocking, so common is criminalising and sexualising children of colour. Says one expert: “We need to really love black children more than we do.” Hannah J Davies, deputy editor, newsletters
If you grew up on TV Burp, or, y’know, guiltily watched it in your late 20s, you’ll love Rachel Aroesti’s interviews with Harry Hill and writer Paul Hawksbee. The best bit is when Eastenders’ Todd Carty tries to shake Hill down for royalties. Archie
The life story of “queenly” model and socialite April Ashley – among the first Britons to transition – has been told in a new Channel 4 documentary. Chitra Ramaswamy’s review highlights the film’s power, and the “strength, humour and sheer guts” Ashley had. Hannah
Simon Jenkins is withering about Keir Starmer’s Brexit speech: he sees the Labour leader’s position, largely treating the subject as closed, as “a mouse of a policy … all moonshine”. Archie
Michael Billington’s tribute to Peter Brook draws on their countless meetings to paint a picture of a man who was “on a permanent quest, [but] never lost the instinct of the showman”. Archie
Sport
Cricket | Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow shared an unbroken stand of 150 to leave England with a real chance of achieving their best ever run chase in their Test against India. The team reached 259-3 to leave just 119 more needed on the fifth day.
Tennis | Simona Halep beat Paula Badosa 6-1, 6-2 to set up a Wimbledon quarter-final against Amanda Anisimova, who beat Harmony Tan 6-2, 6-3. Nick Kyrgios won a five-set marathon against Brandon Nakashima to reach the last eight. He will play Cristian Garín, who beat Alex de Minaur.
Football | Christian Eriksen has agreed to join Manchester United on a three-year deal after talks with manager Erik ten Hag. The Denmark midfielder, who is out of contract, spent the last four months of last season at Brentford after suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.
The front pages
The fallout over Chris Pincher’s appointment features on several front pages. The Mirror leads with “Johnson: I did know about Pincher”. The Guardian has “Parliament urged to act over sex abuse claims” and the i newspaper says “Cabinet angry at Johnson defending again” .
The Times leads with “Get tough with petrol protesters, police told” while the Mail’s take is “Priti: arrest protest mob”. The Express says “Boris: tax cuts of £330 for 30M will ease ‘tough times’.
The Telegraph reports “Starmer clashes with party on Brexit” and the FT leads with “Massive disruption predicted as national train drivers’ strike looms”. The Sun’s splash reads “Prem star in 3am rape arrest”.
Today in Focus
Understanding the cryptocurrency crash
This year has been a disaster for many investors in cryptocurrencies. Alex Hern draws the parallels of the spreading panic in the new digital economy with the 2008 financial crisis.
Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
Biodiversity is getting a boost in Cumbria as work begins to free a 3-metre-high weir – part of a nationwide move that will allow fish and invertebrates to travel freely along UK rivers. The goal: to renaturalise the Bowston weir section on the River Kent, an internationally important site of special scientific interest that has degraded due to human interference. Removing the weir, says Pete Evoy of the South Cumbria Rivers Trust, could reduce flood risks for residents and provide a 44% biodiversity gain. It’s one of up to 60,000 dams, weirs and culverts on UK rivers. Says Evoy: “In the era of a climate and ecological crisis, weir removals should form part of a nationally supported plan to undo the damage they’ve caused to our rivers.”
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.
