Peter Bone hits out at Boris attack as he warns voters not concerned with Pincher row

Peter Bone argues voters don’t care about Chris Pincher issue

Peter Bone backed fellow Paymaster General Michael Ellis as he assured an “exercise” was carried out to ensure Chris Pincher was cleared on the groping scandal that led to his resignation last Thursday. He slammed Opposition MPs for launching a coordinated attack on Boris Johnson after Mr Ellis conceded Boris Johnson was aware on the claims made against Mr Pincher before appointing him as deputy chief whip earlier this year. And he insisted British voters are more concerned about incoming tax cuts than they are about the behaviour of an MP.

The MP of Wellingborough hit out: “I remember recently there was a Brexit Opportunities debate here. There were no Liberal Democrats.

“There were virtually no Labour members. The only time they turn up here is to bash Boris. 

“Can I just ask? Can I ask, Mr Speaker? The Right Honourable friend of mine [Mr Ellis].

“In North Hamptonshire, which we share, do you think our constituents are more concerned about an MP they’ve never heard about or the biggest tax reduction in decades, which is going to happen tomorrow?”

But Sir Lindsay Hoyle later branded Mr Bone a “lone batter” as he appeared to be one of a few MPs in the chamber to defend Boris Johnson.

Peter Bone lashed out at attacks against Boris Johnson (Image: PARLIAMENT TV)

Peter Bone accused Labour and LibDem of only turning up to “bash Boris” (Image: PARLIAMENT TV)

To Mr Bone’s attack, Mr Ellis retorted: “The fact of the matter is, as my friend from Wellingborough points out, the party opposite have made frequent requests of business in this House to be separated over from what our constituent care about primarily to personalities.

“Personalities, because when it comes to policies, Mr Speaker, they don’t raise the issues. And when they do, they lose. Instead, they focus on personalities and that’s been the drive of the past six months.”

Several Tory MPs have also joined Mr Ellis in their criticism of Boris Johnson for his dishonest claims of not knowing about Chris Pincher’s behaviour before appointing him deputy chief whip.

Lord McDonald, the former top civil servant in the Foreign Office, revealed in a letter that the Prime Minister was made aware of a complaint against Mr Pincher in the summer of 2019. 

READ MORE: Bone slams Boris attack as he warns voters not focused on Pincher

Michael Ellis took direct aim at Peter Bone (Image: PARLIAMENT TV)

Peter Bone said voters are not concerned about an MP they’ve never heard of (Image: PARLIAMENT TV)

“Mr Johnson was briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of the investigation,” Lord McDonald said in the letter, adding: “There was a ‘formal complaint’.

Allegations were ‘resolved’ only in the sense that the investigation was completed; Mr Pincher was not exonerated.”

In a sign of growing disquiet among Conservative MPs, The Telegraph’s White Hall Correspondent Tony Diver tweeted: Fair to say that all of this is going down absolutely appallingly among Tory MPs.”

“Backbenchers who went back to constituency surgeries at the weekend were being asked by voters how many boys they had touched up this week. The mood is not great,” The Telegraph’s Tony Diver added, citing an unnamed Government source.

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Chris Pincher drunkenly groped two men (Image: GETTY)

Boris Johnson’s spokesperson denied allegations that he and other officials had misled reporters in saying that the Prime Minister was not aware of any earlier allegation against Chris Pincher. 

“We always seek to provide the information we have at the time. This information does take time to establish,” the spokesperson said. 

Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy lashed out in a tweet: “Michael Ellis has just confirmed Boris Johnson did know the details of the 2019 Chris Pincher complaint but was ‘unable to immediately recall them’. Let that sink in.

“The Prime Minister’s defence for promoting Pincher despite the complaint is seriously that he forgot.”

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