Last night, the government was rocked by yet another sex scandal involving one of its MPs — this time, deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.
Pincher resigned from his senior role enforcing party discipline after admitting he “embarrassed myself and others” when he “drank far too much” at the Carlton Club on Wednesday night.
The Tamworth MP is now facing calls to lose the whip entirely after the Sun reported that he had allegedly groped two men.
It is just the latest case in a long line of controversies to rock the government so far this year.
Imran Ahmad Khan
In April, Imran Ahman Khan, who was elected the Tory MP elected for Wakefield in 2019, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008.
He resigned his seat and the following month was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court heard how he forced the then teenager to drink gin and tonic and asked him to watch pornography before the attack at a house in Staffordshire following a party.
The victim, now 29, said he was left feeling “scared, vulnerable, numb, shocked and surprised” by the incident.
He alerted the Conservative Party press office days before Khan was elected, but said he wasn’t “taken very seriously”.
His resignation resulted in last week’s Wakefield by-election, which Labour won with a majority of 4,925 votes.
David Warburton
The Somerton and Frome MP, who was elected in 2015, was suspended from the Tory Party in April over three allegations of sexual harassment which are being investigated by parliament’s sleaze watchdog.
He is also being investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over separate allegations surrounding possible breaches of Commons lobbying rules and the register of interests.
The Sunday Times also reported allegations that Warburton had failed to declare a £100,000 loan from a Russian businessman — something he has denied.
Neil Parish
Neil Parish resigned as the Tory MP for Tiverton and Honiton in May after he admitted watching porn in the Commons chamber.
The farmer later claimed that on the first occasion, he had been trying to look at pictures of tractors before accidentally clicking on an adult website.
Parish lost the whip in the wake of the revelations but initially said he intended to remain as an MP while the allegations against him were investigated. However, he resigned his seat within 24 hours amid mounting political pressure.
Speaking to the BBC at the time, the 65-year-old said: “The situation was, funnily enough it was tractors I was looking at, so I did get into another website with sort of a very similar name and I watched it for a bit, which I shouldn’t have done.
“My crime, my most biggest crime, is that on another occasion I went in a second time, and that was deliberate. That was sitting waiting to vote on the side of the chamber.”
His resignation led to a by-election in his Devon seat which the Liberal Democrats won last week with a swing of almost 30 per cent.
Unnamed Tory MP arrested on suspicion of rape
A male Tory MP in his 50s, who has not been named, was arrested in May on suspicion of rape and sexual assault offences between 2002 and 2009. He was bailed without charge, pending further inquiries.
The MP was also arrested on allegations of abuse of position of trust and misconduct in a public office, according to Scotland Yard.
The MP had been urged to stay away from parliament but was allowed to take part in a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson last month.