LONDON — A former top U.K. official accused Boris Johnson of not telling the truth when he claimed not to be aware of allegations against an MP he appointed to a key government job but who later quit over groping claims.
In a letter to the U.K. parliamentary commissioner for standards, the former chief diplomat in Johnson’s old department, Simon McDonald, said that in 2019, a group of officials had complained about Chris Pincher’s behavior and that an investigation had upheld the complaint. Pincher had apologized and promised not to repeat the inappropriate behavior, he said.
“Mr Johnson was briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of the investigation,” McDonald wrote.
Pincher resigned last week over claims he groped two men, prompting questions about what the prime minister knew about his past behavior before he promoted him.
McDonald’s letter puts more pressure on Johnson, whose leadership has been weakened following the so-called Partygate scandal and only narrowly survived a vote of confidence in his leadership by Tory MPs.
McDonald said he was speaking out because of Downing Street statements in recent days.
A spokesman for the prime minister first claimed Johnson had not been aware of specific allegations when appointing Pincher as deputy chief whip in February, and later clarified the prime minister knew of allegations but that they were either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint.
“The original No. 10 line is not true and the modification is still not accurate,” McDonald writes.
Five hours after McDonald published his letter, Downing Street confirmed the prime minister had in fact been told about the upheld complaint against Pincher following the investigation.
Government minister Michael Ellis, summoned to the House of Commons to answer an urgent question on the issue, also told MPs the prime minister had been made aware of the “issue” in late 2019, but that Johnson “did not immediately recall the conversation.”
Ellis claimed that as soon as the prime minister was reminded, the No. 10 press office corrected their public lines.
“He was told that the permanent secretary had taken the necessary action. No issue therefore arose about [Pincher] remaining as a minister,” Ellis said.
Asked if he planned on telling journalists the truth today, the prime minister’s spokesman said: “Yes, in short. I will always seek to provide information I have available to me at the time of each briefing.”
In parliament, Conservative backbencher William Wragg, who chairs the Commons public administration committee, suggested Johnson’s ministers should consider their positions. He said they should dwell on what they were being asked to say publicly which “changes seemingly by the hour,” and to ask themselves if they can any longer “tolerate being part of a government which, for better or worse, is widely regarded as having lost its sense of direction.”
Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said: “It is now clear that the prime minister knew about the seriousness of these complaints but decided to promote this man to a senior position in government anyway. He refused to act and then lied about what he knew.”
