Late on the evening of 29 June, a virtually unknown Conservative MP in the UK, Chris Pincher, left a prominent members-only club in Westminster, London, having consumed a large amount of alcohol. Drinking alcohol and all-night parties are no strangers to the British political scene, so Mr Pincher's actions could easily go unnoticed.
Almost no one could have predicted that this MP would be the reason for the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Boris Johnson,[/B] to resign a few weeks later, after more than 13 members of his government had resigned a few days earlier.
The 52-year-old Mr. Pincher, a Member of Parliament from Tamworth in the Midlands, had been given little media attention in his country until 2017, when he was accused of sexually assaulting Olympic rower and Tory member Alex Story by ripping off his shirt, hugging him by the neck and telling him "you can go ahead of the Conservative Party".
However, Chris Pincher was cleared of the charges following an internal party investigation.
"Unusually effective"
In British political circles, he had cultivated a reputation as a tough negotiator and loyal follower of Boris Johnson. He was considered to be highly skilled at reaching out behind the scenes to other Conservative Party MPs, always forcing them to vote for government proposals. For these traits, Mr. Johnson made him minister in charge of European and North American affairs in 2019 and then promoted him to head of party discipline
According to British media, in this position he was unusually effective, helping to organize a behind-the-scenes operation dubbed, at least by some, "Operation Save Big Dog" that allowed Mr. Johnson to survive last month, however narrowly, a confidence vote in Parliament.
[/P][BR][BR]Last Wednesday, Mr. Pincher attended an event for the Conservative Friends of Cyprus at the Carlton Club, not far from Buckingham Palace.
[BR]Last Wednesday, Mr. Pincher attended an event for the Conservative Friends of Cyprus at the Carlton Club, not far from Buckingham Palace. He was accused of sexually harassing two men and witnesses said he was so drunk he had to be put into a taxi.
The next day, repentant, he wrote a letter to the House of Commons and Mr Johnson, tendering his resignation. "Last night I drank too much. I have embarrassed myself and other people, which is the last thing I want to do and for that I apologise to you and those concerned."
But that was not the end of it. The government insisted for days that Mr Johnson knew of no previous allegations, but then it emerged that, despite knowing about the 2017 sexual harassment, he appointed Mr Pincher to his government.
Who is Chris Pincher
Chris Pincher was born in Walsall, an industrial town in the West Midlands of England in 1969 and after studying history at the London School of Economics, he joined management and IT consultancy Andersen, where he worked for 18 years.
Politicised since the miners' strike, he joined the Conservative Party in 1987 and was elected MP in 2010, at his second attempt, taking a seat held by Labour for 14 years.
In one of his rare interviews as an MP, Pincher explained his political motivations. "I believe it is the duty of government to stay out of people's lives as much as possible. For example, I am totally opposed to issuing identity cards to British citizens. I am very strongly opposed to the idea that the Home Secretary can tell me what I should carry in my wallet. I am a free man. I don't have to tell the police who I am. The police ought to believe me when I say who I am."
Although he had never spoken about his sexual preferences, Mr Pincher had voiced their objections to the same-sex marriage bill, arguing that a "solution" would be to let the church decide whether or not gay couples could marry. "We need to take the state out of civil marriage altogether."
Source: protothema.gr
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
