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Former housing minister Chris Pincher resigns from Government over drunken party

Pincher tells PM in letter that he drank far too much but makes no mention of allegations that he groped two men at the Carlton Club party.

Nigel Lewis

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Another Conservative MP has resigned over sexual allegations and this time it’s recently-departed housing minister Chris Pincher, who submitted his letter quitting his position of Deputy Chief Whip after drinking “far too much” at a social gathering and being accused of groping to junior staff.

Pincher, who for the moment will remain as an MP, worked at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for two years until February this year, during which he was the regular purveyor of bad news for the private rented sector, including multiple eviction bans.

These were criticised for being too long and draconian, giving millions of landlords and letting agents major headaches as some tenants used the emergency legislation to dodge paying their rent and avoiding eviction.

Pincher was elevated to the vital Deputy Chief Whip role as a ‘thank you’ from the PM for saving Johnson from a back-bench revolt.

The Sun reports that Pincher has resigned after several MPs reported him for drunken behaviour at London’s Carlton Club, during which he is alleged to have groped two men.

Raised eyebrows

His elevation to the whip’s office in February raised eyebrows as he had held a position there previously but had resigned in 2017 after being accused of making an unwanted pass at a former Olympic rower turned wannabe MP, Alex Story, several years earlier.

An internal investigation cleared him of any misconduct.

In his resignation letter Pincher says: “Last night I drank far too much. I think the right thing to do in the circumstances is for me to resign as deputy chief whip. I owe it to you and the people I’ve caused upset to, to do this.”

He said that Boris Johnson would continue to have his “full support from the back benches”, adding: “It has been the honour of my life to have served in Her Majesty’s Government.”

July 1, 2022

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