The allegedly groping former deputy chief whip has stated that he is seeking “professional medical treatment” and that he intends to return to his role as an MP “as soon as feasible.”
Chris Pincher said he would “cooperate fully” with an investigation into his behavior after being suspended from the Conservative Party on Friday night after Downing Street acknowledged receiving a warning not to appoint him.
Following allegations that he inappropriately touched two guys at a private members club in London on Wednesday night while intoxicated, Mr. Pincher had the whip taken away.
“I respect the Prime Minister’s decision to suspend the whip while an inquiry is ongoing,” Mr. Pincher said in a statement. “I will completely comply with it.”
“I drank excessively, humiliating both myself and others.”
“I drank far too much on Wednesday night, embarrassing myself and others, and I am genuinely sorry for the upset I caused,” he continued. “As I informed the Prime Minister, I am truly sorry.
“I have come to terms with the fact that I will benefit from expert medical support because of the tensions of the last few days, which have been added to those of the previous few months.
“I’m currently looking for that, and I want to be able to resume serving my district as soon as possible.”
Mr. Pincher, the Tamworth-based Conservative MP, has left the party’s whips office twice due to charges of sexual misconduct.
Mr. Pincher announced his resignation in a letter to Mr. Johnson and seemed to address the accusations.
I drank too much last night, he wrote. I apologize to you and the others involved since I’ve embarrassed myself and others, which is the last thing I want to do.
“I believe that leaving my position as deputy chief whip is the proper course of action given the current situation. I have to do this because I owe it to you and the individuals I’ve agitated.
It has come to light that Mr. Pincher behaved in an obscene manner that evening, with reports that he was so inebriated that he could “barely stand up” and that a fellow Tory MP had to “pull” him from the exclusive private member’s bar.
The Conservative Friends of Cyprus dinner, which was held at the Carlton Club and offered prosecco and wine, was attended by the deputy chief whip at the time. Witnesses stated that he was not intoxicated when he made a brief statement.
He was way too intoxicated to be there.
He reportedly stuck behind and got more drunk after the celebration ended at 9 o’clock and most of his coworkers left. The 52-year-old is alleged to have grabbed the two males, later on, one of whom is in his 20s.
After learning about one of the two sexual assaults, a Tory MP who was there at the event described how they “threw out” a “very drunk” Mr. Pincher and then called the chief whip at three in the morning to let him know.
After learning about the first incident, the MP said, “I took him outside and told him to go because he was extremely inebriated.” I was informed that he had inappropriate behaviour with someone and that he had supposedly run his hands down him.
“I could see he was way too inebriated to be there. He was coming in and out of my peripheral. Someone else was unsuccessfully attempting to persuade him to go. I essentially hauled him outdoors at that point.
A government “minder” allegedly followed Mr. Pincher to functions to prevent him from becoming too inebriated, according to claims made on the Politico website.
In 2017, Mr. Pincher resigned from a relatively junior post in the whip’s office after being accused of attempting to flirt with him by a former Tory candidate.
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Former Olympic rower Alex Story claimed that he had invited him back to his apartment and behaved “like a pound shop Harvey Weinstein,” untucking his shirt, rubbing his neck, and hushed a remark to the effect of “You’ll go far in the Conservative Party.”
According to a former activist in the party’s youth wing, Mr. Pincher was referred to by young Tories as “Uncle Monty”—a reference to a predatory homosexual character in the classic movie Withnail and I.
