Chris Pincher: How No 10 changed its story on what Boris Johnson knew

A former senior civil servant has accused No 10 of not telling the truth when it said the prime minister was not aware of specific allegations about Conservative MP Chris Pincher, before appointing him as deputy chief whip in February.

Mr Pincher resigned from the position on 30 June, after allegations of sexual misconduct. The Conservative MP for Tamworth - who denies misconduct - has also faced previous allegations about his behaviour.

No 10 - and a series of government ministers - initially denied that Boris Johnson was aware of specific complaints against Mr Pincher before appointing him as deputy chief whip. (No 10 is the prime minister's office and briefs journalists on his behalf.)

Then No 10's position changed on Monday lunchtime with a statement saying the prime minister was aware of "allegations that were either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint".

But Lord McDonald - a former top civil servant at the Foreign Office - said in a letter released on Tuesday morning that Mr Johnson was briefed "in person" about a "formal complaint" into Mr Pincher's conduct in 2019, when Mr Pincher was a Foreign Office minister.

The government has now confirmed that Mr Johnson was indeed briefed at the time but could not "recall this" when the latest allegations emerged last week.

The story broke in the Sun newspaper. Mr Pincher resigned and a senior Downing Street source told the BBC that he was a loyal Conservative who recognised that he behaved badly, and confirmed that as things stand he would face no further action and keep the party whip.

No 10 was asked whether the prime minister was aware of allegations before appointing Mr Pincher and briefed that he was not.

In the same briefing, the spokesperson said Mr Johnson was not aware of "specific allegations" about him.

They went on to say that all ministerial appointments are looked at by the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics team, which concluded at the time Mr Pincher was given the job that there was no basis to stop the appointment "on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations".

On the evening of 1 July, Mr Pincher was suspended as a Conservative Party MP.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey appeared on the BBC's Sunday Programme and was asked whether the prime minister knew whether there were were "allegations of sexual misconduct against Chris Pincher" when he appointed him deputy chief whip?

She said: "To the best of my understanding, the prime minister has not been aware of specific allegations against Chris Pincher."

She was asked how she knew this and said - after a number of questions - that the information came from "somebody from the Number 10 press office".

The following day, Will Quince - the minister for children and families - appeared on the BBC's Today Programme and was also asked whether the prime minister knew about the allegations before making the appointment.

He said: "I anticipated you asking this question. Both last night and this morning, I asked No 10 both clearly and firmly for answers on this and I have been given a categorical assurance that the prime minister was not aware of any specific allegation or complaint against the former [deputy] chief whip at the point at which he was appointed."

Later, in a television interview recorded shortly before 11:30, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said that allegations about Chris Pincher, which he said went back to his time serving in Theresa May's government, "were investigated" and "found not be correct".

He reiterated: "On the specific allegations, the prime minister did not know."

By 12:30 on Monday, No 10 had changed its line. The prime minister's official spokesperson said Mr Johnson knew of "allegations that were either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint" adding that "it was deemed not appropriate to stop an appointment simply because of unsubstantiated allegations".

The complaint led to a disciplinary process which confirmed his misconduct.

Lord McDonald published a letter on Twitter which he had written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The letter said: "The original No 10 line is not true and the modification is still not accurate."

He also appeared on the Today programme to say that a group of Foreign Office colleagues told him in 2019 that Mr Pincher had behaved inappropriately, that a complaint had been upheld and Mr Pincher had apologised.

"I briefed the relevant senior official in the Cabinet Office," he said. "I know that the senior official briefed the prime minister in person because that official told me so at the time."

Dominic Raab, who was foreign secretary at the time of the complaint, appeared on the same programme a little earlier - but after the letter had been published.

He said he was not aware that the prime minister had been briefed.

"That's news to me - I wasn't aware of that - and it's not clear to me that that is factually accurate," he said.

Later, in Parliament, Paymaster General Michael Ellis confirmed that the prime minister had indeed been made aware of the allegations, although he did not use the phrase "formal complaint" instead saying that "officials raised concerns".

"Last week, when fresh allegations arose, the prime minister did not immediately recall the conversation in late 2019 about this incident," he told MPs.

The prime minister's official spokesman said Mr Johnson initially "couldn't recall" the briefing, which is said to have been in the form of a conversation, when asked about it on Friday and it had taken some time "to establish the exact details".

Asked when No 10 had decided the line issued last week was not correct, he said it was established "late Sunday or early Monday".