MP Chris Pincher quits after losing groping appeal

Former Tory whip Chris Pincher has resigned his seat after losing his appeal against a proposed Commons suspension for drunkenly groping two men.

It means the government will face another by-election.

The Parliament's standards committee found the Tamworth MP groped two men at London's Carlton Club.

It described his "completely inappropriate" behaviour as an "abuse of power".

Mr Pincher, who had been sitting as an independent MP, had previously announced he would be standing down at the next election.

However, on Monday he lost an appeal against the proposed eight-week suspension.

It meant that if MPs had approved the recommendation - usually a formality - it would have triggered a recall petition which could have led to a by-election.

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Pincher, who has held the seat since 2010, said he came to the decision to resign after talking to his family and his staff.

He said: "I do not want my constituents to be put to further uncertainty, and so in consequence I have made arrangements to resign and leave the Commons."

It is set to be the ninth by-election since Rishi Sunak became prime minister.

Parliament's standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg found Mr Pincher groped a then-employee of the House of Lords on his arm and neck, before groping his bottom.

He also found he groped a civil servant's bottom and then his testicles.

Following the inquiry, the standards committee concluded his actions had been "profoundly damaging" to Parliament's reputation.

Mr Pincher apologised and said he accepted his behaviour had damaged his reputation and the government's.

But he rejected the idea he had done significant damage as he argued he had spoken at the Carlton Club as a former minister, rather than as an MP.

Witnesses told the BBC at the time that Mr Pincher was seen "extremely drunk" at the Conservative Party members' club in St James's, central London.

Stepping down as deputy chief whip in July 2022, in his resignation letter he told the prime minister he "drank far too much" and embarrassed himself and others.

Since then he has received almost £100,000 in salary and £7,920 in ministerial severance, while he has claimed £13,860 in rent as expenses.

Mr Pincher's downfall was one of a series of scandals which contributed to Boris Johnson's Downing Street departure.

The prime minister's office and a number of government ministers initially denied that Mr Johnson was aware of specific complaints against Mr Pincher before appointing him as deputy chief whip.

It later emerged Mr Johnson had been briefed "in person" about a "formal complaint" into Mr Pincher's conduct.

The government then confirmed Mr Johnson was indeed briefed at the time, but could not "recall this" when the allegations emerged in the Sun newspaper.

Speaking during a visit to the University of Warwick, Mr Sunak was asked about two by-elections in Rutherglen and Hamilton West and Mid Bedfordshire in October.

"Mid-term by-elections are always difficult for incumbent governments and these will be no different, but we're going to keep working hard to deliver for the British people," he said.

Mr Pincher is understood to have written to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to officially quit the Commons.

On a visit to Birmingham on Thursday, Mr Hunt told the BBC the timing of Mr Pincher's resignation was "up to the individual involved".

"This was a situation which needed to be resolved and now we know the way forward and we will put forward a very strong candidate from the Conservative Party," he added.

The Tories said they would carry out a selection process for their candidate to contest the by-election.

Eddie Hughes, the current MP for Walsall North, has already been selected to represent the party in Tamworth at the next general election, following boundary changes, but has confirmed he will not be standing in a by-election.

Labour would need a swing of just over 21% to take the Staffordshire seat, where the Conservatives had a 19,000 majority at the last election.

Labour's leader, Sir Keir Starmer, said the people of Tamworth had been "desperately let down" by Mr Pincher and the Tories.

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