It emerged today that the prime minister was briefed in person about a complaint made about Chris Pincher who was a junior Foreign Office minister when Boris Johnson was his boss as foreign secretary.

No 10 had previously said that the PM was not aware of previous allegations made about Pincher.

Johnson today says: "About three years ago there was a complaint made against Chris Pincher in the Foreign Office.

The BBC has approached Mr Pincher for comment about the complaint at the Foreign Office. Pincher has denied previous allegations of sexual misconduct.

Boris Johnson says he "bitterly regrets" giving MP Chris Pincher a government role as deputy chief whip after being made aware of a misconduct complaint against him.

Johnson says it was a mistake given complaints about his conduct had been made before.

"In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do and I apologise to everyone who has been badly affected by it.

"I just want to make absolutely clear that there's no place in this government for anybody who is predatory or abuses their position of power," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Sebastian Payne, Whitehall editor of the Financial Times, says images from today's cabinet meeting speak volumes.

"For reasons beyond me there were cameras let in and you could see the faces of Jacob Rees Mogg, Nadine Dorries... they were looking stony," he tells the BBC.

"Their personal reputations have taken the hit, as well as the prime minister and as well as the rest of the government," he says.

While Boris Johnson remains safe for now, Payne believes a high-ranking member of cabinet quitting could start a "domino effect".

"The phrase that is often used in Westminster is Ernest Hemingway’s 'gradually then suddenly' - I think that could happen with Boris Johnson," he says.

"We’ve all predicted Boris Johnson’s demise many times before so you should never really bet against him, but things have taken a significant turn for the worse today," he adds.

"I think eventually the rules of political gravity do kick in."

Vicki Young
Deputy Political Editor

A visit to the tearoom is always a sign that a prime minister is in trouble.

As he sipped Diet Coke, Boris Johnson was left in no doubt that many of his MPs are furious at this latest fiasco.

Some openly challenged him, demanding to know why, yet again, they’re having to defend his decisions and why the story keeps changing.

One MP present said the message was “you promised us you’d sort this... out in January with a new operation but we’ve gone backwards”.

Earlier close friends of Mr Johnson told him face to face how bad the mood had become in the party and urged him to take action.

Reality Check

Image source, PA Media

Here's a look back at what's been said, and by whom, after allegations of sexual misconduct by Chris Pincher at a social event emerged last week.

Thursday 30 June

As reports emerge about his behaviour at the event the night before, Chris Pincher resigns as deputy chief whip.

Friday 1 July

Asked about whether the prime minister was aware of earlier allegations before appointing Pincher, No 10 briefs that he was not. The spokesperson says Boris Johnson was not aware of "specific allegations" about him.

That evening Pincher is suspended as a Conservative Party MP.

Sunday 3 July

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey is asked if Johnson knew about "allegations of sexual misconduct against Chris Pincher" when he appointed him deputy chief whip.

She says: "To the best of my understanding, the prime minister has not been aware of specific allegations against Chris Pincher."

Asked how she knew this, she says - after a number of questions - that the information came from "somebody from the Number 10 press office".

Monday 4 July

Will Quince - the minister for children and families - appears on the BBC's Today programme and is asked whether the prime minister knew about the allegations before making the appointment.

He says: "I anticipated you asking this question. Both last night and this morning, I asked No 10 both clearly and firmly for answers on this and I have been given a categorical assurance that the prime minister was not aware of any specific allegation or complaint against the former [deputy] chief whip at the point at which he was appointed."

Later that morning, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi says in a TV interview that allegations about Chris Pincher "were investigated" and "found not to be correct".

He reiterates: "On the specific allegations, the prime minister did not know."

At lunchtime however, the prime minister's official spokesperson says Johnson knew of "allegations that were either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint" adding that "it was deemed not appropriate to stop an appointment simply because of unsubstantiated allegations".

That evening, BBC Political Correspondent Ione Wells revealed that Boris Johnson was made aware of a formal complaint about Chris Pincher's "inappropriate behaviour" while a Foreign Office minister from 2019-20.

Tuesday 5 July

The former top civil servant in the Foreign Office, Lord McDonald, accuses Downing Street of "not telling the truth" when it said the prime minister was unaware of any formal complaints about alleged inappropriate behaviour by Pincher.

Dominic Raab - foreign secretary at the time of the 2019 complaint - is told of McDonald's statement and says he was not aware that the prime minister had been briefed.

"That's news to me - I wasn't aware of that - and it's not clear to me that that is factually accurate," he said.

Later, in Parliament, Paymaster General Michael Ellis confirms that the prime minister had indeed been made aware of the allegations, although he did not use the phrase "formal complaint" instead saying that "officials raised concerns".

"Last week, when fresh allegations arose, the prime minister did not immediately recall the conversation in late 2019 about this incident," he told MPs.

• Read the full timeline here

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson has the latest on the Durham Police investigation into whether Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer broke Covid regulations when he was seen having food and apparently a beer during the campaign for last year's Hartlepool by-election.

Durham Constabulary initially decided no rules had been broken but reinvestigated the matter after receiving what it described as "significant new information".

Conservative MPs accused the Labour leader of hypocrisy after he called for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign after being fined over a party at Downing Street.

Starmer has always maintained that he did nothing wrong and had "stopped for something to eat" during meetings while working.

Some Tory MPs are completely fed uppublished at 16:39 British Summer Time 5 July 2022

16:39 BST 5 July 2022

Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent

I've spoken to some Tory MPs and ministers this morning - they are completely fed up with the way this is being handled.

Even those who are publicly loyal to Boris Johnson are questioning how much longer they can go on defending what some of them see as the indefensible.

If the allegations against Chris Pincher weren't serious enough in the first place, the way it's been handled by No 10 since then and the way Downing Street has shifted its stance just makes things 10 times worse, as far as many MPs see it.

When the story keeps changing and the line keeps shifting the issue will not go away. There is a good deal of frustration among MPs who want to get on with their jobs but the issue - as many see it - is as much to do with those around Boris Johnson in Downing Street as it is with the prime minister himself.

The summer recess is due in about three weeks time and it can't come soon enough for a lot of MPs this week.

Image source, EPA

Former Conservative minister David Gauke has told BBC News that he hopes at some point or other, ministers will say "enough is enough".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's The World at One, Gauke said that everyone had their own line to be crossed.

"I think for some of us, the line was probably crossed a long time ago with this government and this prime minister, but yes, I think it must be pretty wearing."

Describing the situation as demoralising for politicians, Gauke - who is no longer an MP - said he didn't think anyone went into politics to go out and "defend blind".

"But that is what I'm afraid is now expected of government ministers and I hope, at some point or other, they say enough is enough."

Image source, Reuters

We've heard quite a lot today about the the UK government's twice daily media briefings, known as the Lobby. But what is it and who is involved?

It takes place behind closed doors at Downing Street with a civil servant taking questions from a group of accredited political journalists.

Quotes that emerge from this briefing are attributed to the "prime minister's official spokesperson" and by long-standing convention the person who leads the briefing is not named.

As the appointee is a civil servant rather than a political adviser, he or she is not free to attack the opposition parties in the way that a spokesperson serving the Conservative Party directly would be.

In 2020 the government decided to appoint a press secretary to front televised briefings, akin to those at the White House, to “communicate with the nation on behalf of the prime minister”. But the government later decided not to go ahead with those briefings and what would have been a significant change in political reporting was dropped.

Image source, Reuters

Will Jennings is professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Southampton, and focuses on public attitudes and trust in politics.

He tells the BBC that even before these latest allegations about Chris Pincher, Boris Johnson had "terrible" approval ratings that have been in freefall since late last year due to issues including the partygate scandal.

"Despite some of the Westminster chatter, he doesn’t have electoral superpowers. He’s deeply unpopular in terms of his job approval," Jennings says.

He points to a recent YouGov survey which included a question on whether the PM is seen as trustworthy - 74% said no., external

"So the latest revelations are not necessarily game changers but they really reinforcing an incredibly negative image of the prime minister," he says.

"I think the concern for the Conservative Party, the government, and British politics more generally, is the potential for that to seep through and toxify both the Conservatives and politics more generally."

Conservative MP Roger Gale says the prime minister has "trashed the reputation of a proud and honourable party."

Gale, a long-standing critic of Boris Johnson, says it is "not acceptable" that his party leader had sent ministers "effectively to lie on his behalf" in interviews over his handling of claims against former Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher.

Gale adds that the claims have to be acted on by the party.

The questions are all about what Boris Johnson knew, and whenpublished at 15:14 British Summer Time 5 July 2022

15:14 BST 5 July 2022

Chris Mason
Political editor

This is all about one thing: truth.

Stand back from the swirl of detail and allegations, and it boils down to whether people can believe what No 10 is saying.

And when I say people, of course, firstly that means the electorate.

But it also means the very ministers, members of the government, who are sent out to explain what the prime minister knew and when.

Grounded into how that works, normally at least, is that they are briefed on the lines to take in response to particular questions.

They have to assume that what they are being told is accurate and truthful.

To put it politely, Downing Street's response to the allegations of recent days has evolved.

Various iterations of it have, it would seem, turned out to be drivel.

And this matters because while this current row relates to the alleged behaviour of the former deputy chief whip, the timeline rings one or two bells for those familiar with all those rows about what became known as "partygate".

The questions are all about what Boris Johnson knew, and when.

And the answers continue to change, often in response to awkward facts that prove their previous defence was rubbish, or at the very least not as a candid as it could have been.

Read more from Chris here: Can people believe what No 10 is saying?

The former head of the Civil Service says there needs to be "honesty and accuracy" from Boris Johnson over Chris Pincher's appointment as deputy chief whip.

Lord Kerslake tells Radio 4's The World at One programme there is a pattern of No 10 trying to "mislead and confuse stories".

"We do need to understand why action was taken to appoint Chris Pincher to be a deputy chief whip, a role that is, after all, about the wellbeing of MPs as much as anything," he says.

We need to know why was that appointment made, and if needs be, hear an apology, he says.

Kerslake adds it is "inconceivable" that those around the PM were unaware of the sexual misconduct claims.

He added that Lord McDonald's letter, while "very unusual", was a "model of clarity" after days of changing stories and inaccuracies.

The veteran Conservative backbencher Sir Roger Gale - a long-standing critic of Boris Johnson - says Lord McDonald's letter has changed his mind and he now thinks the Conservatives need to change their rules to allow a fresh vote of confidence in the prime minister to go ahead.

He told BBC News that Johnson had been sending ministers out "to defend the indefensible, effectively to lie on his behalf. That cannot be allowed to continue".

Saying he was "completely horrified" by events, Gale described McDonald as "kicking the bottom completely out of the line that was originally peddled out of Downing Street by the prime minister. That is absolutely unforgiveable."

Image source, PA Media

After Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote in his leadership last month, there is now a period of a year where he is safe from another challenge under the rules of the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs.

There has been speculation that those rules could be changed to allow a further vote within 12 months. Elections for the committee's executive positions are to be held soon.

Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

"Embarrassing". In one word a normally supportive MP sums up Boris Johnson’s handling of the Chris Pincher allegations.

Their loyalty is being tested, they say, by the way Downing Street’s position has shifted repeatedly and the whole affair is “eroding trust” in politics.

No 10, the MP told me, is a “walking talking advert” for rebels to get elected to the backbench 1922 committee in an attempt to orchestrate a leadership challenge. They said the PM had a 50/50 chance of surviving until the end of the year.

Many backbenchers are openly critical of Mr Johnson now but more still are wavering, their loyalty is being tested and they’re asking themselves how much they are willing to defend.

The shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, has attacked Boris Johnson for his response to allegations made against Chris Pincher, saying: "We have a prime minister whose first instinct when he is cornered is to tell a lie."

Thornberry also said that the "brave people who came forward" to make allegations against Pincher were being "pushed aside" and that powerful men should be held to account.

It's worth remembering that Chris Pincher is just one of many politicians who have been accused of inappropriate behaviour and concerns have long been raised around the culture at Westminster.

Journalist Alexander Brown, from the Scotsman, spoke to the BBC about his experiences, describing the seat of government as "an unprofessional workplace".

He said he was once grabbed by the throat at a Conservative Party conference, had been touched in the Commons, and had comments made about his appearance.

Brown also suggested that people who have experienced far worse are "scared to come forward".

"They rally around the MP and the party, rather than dealing with it and protecting people," he said.

Pincher, the MP for Tamworth, was suspended as a Conservative MP last week over allegations he groped two men at a private members' club in London.

He said he was "truly sorry" and would co-operate fully with the inquiry into his alleged behaviour and is seeking professional medical support.

It certainly feels like anger among Tory MPs is building againpublished at 13:46 British Summer Time 5 July 2022

13:46 BST 5 July 2022

Vicki Young
Deputy Political Editor

It’s not been difficult since partygate to find Conservative MPs willing to criticise Boris Johnson but his response to the Chris Pincher allegations is prompting another wave of unhappiness.

Even some of those who’ve been previously loyal are struggling to defend the evolving lines emerging from No 10. A cabinet minister suggests there’s a certain “arrogance” at the top which makes them think they can “slide their way out of anything”.

A minister tells me the “rot remains in No 10” and several MPs say the “mood has hardened against the prime minister over the weekend.”

It certainly feels like anger is building again, as it did before the vote of confidence.

Mr Johnson promised a new team to sort out problems after partygate, but as one former cabinet minister put it: “It’s not the team that’s the issue, it’s the team leader.”

The government's been responding to an urgent question from Labour in the Commons about who knew what and when regarding Chris Pincher - the former minister and deputy chief whip who is accused of inappropriate behaviour.

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Ellis took the question, and has told MPs that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was made aware of a formal complaint against Pincher in late 2019 - but he "did not immediately recall this conversation... about the minister" when he was asked about it last week.

"As soon as he was reminded, the No 10 press office corrected their public lines," Ellis said.

Boris Johnson acted with probity at all times, he added.

Ellis also said that it was possible that a police investigation into Pincher's conduct may follow - which prevented him from saying more about the allegations.

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said there was an “ethical vacuum” in Downing Street and the PM was personally informed about these allegations – so he was either negligent or complicit, she said.

Labour's Luke Pollard says there is a real concern amongst staff in the Palace of Westminster about a culture which "protects abusers" and does not encourage victims to come forward.

He says we could be seeing the beginning of an unlocking of a type of abuse which has been common in Westminster for far too long of "men abusing other men, particularly young men".

He says that it is a scandal which will run for "miles and miles".

Michael Ellis responds by saying that Pollard is completely wrong and there is no such culture in Westminster.