Stop Pinching My Johnson


I enjoyed this video. I hope it played at Boris Johnson’s goodbye party, if he had one. He probably did. He seems fond of parties.

Aside: I know enough about British politics to understand that part of the reason for Johnson’s resignation was that he lied about his awareness of allegations against an MP that he later appointed to an important position, but somehow I missed the part where the allegations involved a fellow named Pincher groping some dudes. I apologize unreservedly to the names tag for my oversight.

On Wednesday 29 June, the MP Chris Pincher – at the time, the Conservative deputy chief whip – went to a private members’ club in London. In his words, he “drank far too much” and “embarrassed himself”.
He was accused of groping two men, which led to a flurry of allegations, some dating back years. It set off a chain of events that ended with the prime minister’s downfall.
First, Downing Street said Mr Johnson was not aware of “specific allegations” about Mr Pincher before appointing him as deputy chief whip in February. Ministers later reiterated this line – even though it turned out to be inaccurate.
On 4 July, the BBC reported Mr Johnson had been aware of a formal complaint. The next day, a former civil servant – Lord McDonald – said the prime minister had been told of the complaint in person.

Mr Johnson then admitted he had been told in 2019, and apologised for appointing Mr Pincher as deputy chief whip.

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