UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced flak due to his handling of the Chris Pincher situation, where the former deputy chief whip had to step down after misconduct allegations from when he groped guests at a dinner. Health and finance ministers Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak have already resigned, saying that the government should be run better and Tory Vice-chairman Bim Afolami also announced his resignation on live television, saying that the country no longer trusted Johnson. 

Pincher stepped down on June 30 and there was pressure on Johnson to immediately suspend the whip but it took him until Friday evening to do so. Since then, there have been questions about why Johnson appointed Pincher, who, in 2017, had to be removed from the assistant whip position after being accused of sexual misconduct by Olympic rower and Conservative party member, Alex Story. 

Over time, the government’s stance on what Johnson did and didn’t know has kept changing. Here’s a look at all Downing Street said. 

June 30 

Daily Mail reported that a Tory source had said Johnson was of the opinion that Pincher had done the “decent” thing by resigning, and there was no need to suspend the whip. 

July 1 

The PM’s official spokesperson said he was unaware of any “specific allegations”. 

Also Read | What UK PM Boris Johnson told resigning ministers Sajid Javid, Rishi Sunak

“In the absence of any formal complaint, it was not appropriate to stop an appointment on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations”, the statement read. 

July 3 

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey told Sky News she didn’t believe the PM knew of any specific allegations against Pincher. 

“I don’t believe he was aware, that’s what I’ve been told today but you were asking more about more general rumours and I have no ideas what conversations have been had, I just am aware that the prime minister was not aware of specific claims that have been made,” she said, adding, “And as I say, ultimately when he resigned, Chris resigned the whip… sorry, Chris resigned as deputy chief whip and then when specific things were brought directly to the attention of the prime minister, he agreed with the chief whip to suspend the whip”. 

July 4 

Education minister Will Quince said that Downing Street had assured him Johnson wasn’t aware of the allegations. Speaking to Sky News he said, “I spoke with Number 10 both yesterday and today and I asked them firmly and clearly for an answer on this and I’ve been given categorical assurance that the PM was not aware of any serious specific allegation with regards to the former deputy chief whip”. 

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, who’s now the finance minister, said that no complaints were upheld against Pincher, who’d been appointed by the Theresa May government, initially. 

“On the specific allegations, the PM did not know and I think as he found out he acted and acted decisively. That’s the right thing to do, there is now due process that has to follow”, Zahawi said. 

On the same day, Johnson’s official spokesman said that he was aware of media reports about investigations into Pincher. 

Also Read | Chris Pincher resignation: The 2017 Alex Story accusations

“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 progress to a formal complaint, but at the time of the appointment of the deputy chief whip he was not aware of any specific allegations”, he said, adding, “He did take advice on some of the allegations that had been made, but there was no formal complaint at that time and it was deemed not appropriate to stop an appointment simply because of unsubstantiated allegations.” 

July 5 

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told Sky News that a complaint had been made in 2019 when he was an MP and Johnson was PM. Lord McDonald, the ex-permanent secretary at the Foreign Office said that no formal complaint had been made, but an investigation was carried out into Pincher’s behaviour and Johnson was “briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of the investigation”. 

Later that day, when pressed, a Downing Street spokesperson said that Johnson was aware of the 2019 complaint, adding he was told “by someone in the Cabinet Office… a number of months” after the complaint was investigated. 

Johnson then apologized for appointing Pincher, but his actions once again have led to a deepening of mistrust in his leadership, within the Conservative party.