British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is coming under more and more pressure after his office was forced to concede that he was briefed about an earlier complaint of sexual misconduct against one of his ministers, despite his office previously saying he was not.
Johnson was accused of lying over what he knew when he appointed Christopher Pincher to a role involved in offering pastoral care in the Conservative Party.
His office made a response to the lying allegations, saying he had been briefed in “some form” about the case but did not remember being briefed.
The allegation of lying, and Johnson’s apparent memory loss, are doing little to relieve months of building pressure on Johnson. Johnson is facing growing frustration among his own party, the Conservative Party, over what many say is now a scandal-ridden administration.
The Tories thought that the worst had come when “Partygate” blew open. But, that was just the beginning of issues for Johnson and his administration.
Some Conservative lawmakers are trying again to unseat Johnson. This comes a month after Johnson scraped through a confidence vote. Now, Conservative MPs are escalating a campaign for a second no-confidence vote.
The main opposition, the Labour Party, accused Johnson of “dragging British democracy through the muck.”
Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip last week amid allegations of sexual misconduct, making him the latest politician to become embroiled in sexual misconduct accusations.
Pincher resigned saying he had drunk too much, embarrassed himself, and “caused upset” to people. Pincher reportedly sexually assaulted two male guests at a London club.
Since the story broke last week, reports have come out that Pincher faced several previous allegations of sexual misconduct.
In 2017, Pincher was cleared by an internal party complaints procedure after reports that he had made unwanted passes at a former rower.
A spokesperson for Johnson said that the prime minister was not aware of any specific allegations when Pincher was appointed to his government role.
Then on Monday, the spokesman said that Johnson was indeed aware of “some allegations” that were either resolved or “did not progress to a formal complaint.”
The constantly shifting and changing explanations and new accusations of lying have only added to the fury against Johnson and his government.
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