McDonald's strength of feeling shows he could not keep quietpublished at 11:56 British Summer Time 5 July 2022

11:56 BST 5 July 2022

Ione Wells
Political correspondent, BBC News

Lord McDonald's letter is pretty unprecedented.

While he is no longer in the civil service top officials tend not to speak on the record, except in exceptional circumstances, about their time there because they are bound by their loyalty to the system as impartial public servants.

But Lord McDonald's strength of feeling in his letter shows he clearly could not keep quiet about this, nor No 10's initial denial that any formal complaints were made.

This has heaped fresh pressure on Boris Johnson from his own MPs - including some ministers who feel they have been, in some cases, led up a hill only to be marched back down it again by Downing Street.

Ione Wells
Political correspondent, BBC News

When we broke the story last night - that Boris Johnson and the then Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab were aware of a formal complaint made about Chris Pincher when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019 - No 10 did not change their line.

No 10 sources said they "anticipated" this (presumably being revealed) and that is why the prime minister's official spokesman had said earlier in the day that the PM was aware of media reports and allegations that were "either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint".

Remember - even this is a significant change from their initial line on Friday that the prime minister was not aware of any allegations before he appointed Pincher as deputy chief whip.

What we revealed in our story showed there was clearly a formal process that took place into Pincher's behaviour at the Foreign Office.

No 10 now appear to be hinging on this word "resolved". But this has been heavily criticised by the former head of the diplomatic service, Lord McDonald, in his explosive letter to the Standards Commissioner today.

He said to use that word gives the impression that a "happy and agreed conclusion was reached" when instead the "complaint was upheld" - so to give the impression Pincher was exonerated is wrong.

People from around the country have been calling BBC Radio 5 Live to give their views on the Pincher row and how it reflects on the government.

George in Wokingham says it’s time to leave Boris Johnson alone:

Carole in Derbyshire feels “it’s a witch-hunt” against a “super prime minister” but she does question his loyalty to people and his judgement when it comes to his friends, saying he is too easy-going and brushes things over.

But Tim in Cornwall has run out of patience with the PM, and his colleagues:

Image source, Reuters

James Johnson, co-founder of pollsters JL Partners, who ran the polling operation at No 10 under Theresa May, has been on BBC News talking about what this means in terms of the prime minister's popularity.

He says the latest revelation "underlines really what we've known since mid-January, that as far as the public are concerned, Boris Johnson has not been straight with them".

He says "it's the cover-ups" that really incense voters, "we saw that with partygate and we're seeing it again now".

He adds, in April the firm asked voters what word summed up the prime minister and "that most common word was liar and I don't think this is going to change views of that."

He says that given recent local election results it's apparent now that voters are "turning against the prime minister, and increasingly the longer this goes on, the Conservative Party too."

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood says the prime minister and No 10 need to respond to Lord Mcdonald's letter.

Speaking to Sky News, he says they need to understand the scale and gravity of the story and "get ahead of it" as it is dominating the news day after day.

"Junior ministers are sent out with the lines to take... and that line only lasts a number of hours until that has to be corrected," he adds.

Ellwood says it's "overshadowing the efforts to try and focus on the bigger issues which I think is where the country would like us to focus."

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has been granted an urgent question in the Commons on the Chris Pincher row at around 12.30 BST.

She will ask Cabinet Office Minister Michael Ellis to "make a statement on the mechanisms for upholding standards in public life".

Stay with us as we bring you her question live.

A dynamite letterpublished at 10:56 British Summer Time 5 July 2022

10:56 BST 5 July 2022

Ben Wright
BBC political correspondent

Lord McDonald's letter was dynamite.

It’s extraordinary that Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab this morning didn’t know that Boris Johnson had received a briefing and been told that Chris Pincher was subject to an internal investigation back in 2019.

Raab is not the first minister to be put in a very tricky situation over the last two or three days.

Right back to Friday ministers have been trying to explain No 10's version of events, which has frankly changed as the days have passed.

Go back to Friday when the prime minister’s official spokesperson said Johnson was not aware of allegations about Chris Pincher's behaviour before his appointment as deputy chief whip in February.

That position had already shifted by yesterday afternoon and has been blown out of the water by Lord McDonald's letter today.

There will be people meeting in the cabinet now who will be upset - to say the least - about the way the last few days have unfolded.

But where does this take us in terms of Boris Johnson’s future and also Chris Pincher’s career as an MP? At the moment there’s no indication Pincher is ready to throw in the towel and trigger a by-election. I don't think No 10 want that.

There are questions piling up for Downing Street and the prime minister to answer about precisely what he knew and when.

Image source, Getty Images

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been addressing his cabinet in the wake of fresh allegations from Lord McDonald about what the top figures in the government knew about former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher's behaviour.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's cut in national insurance contributions, Johnson said it was part of a package of measures to help people grapple with the rising cost of living.

He told colleagues: "It will be in people's pay packets from tomorrow onwards and amongst other things it is there to help people up and down the country with the cost of living.

"It shows that the government is firmly on the side of the British people."

Image source, Getty Images

We've now got reaction from Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner.

She says Lord McDonald's letter showed the prime minister had "lied" about the appointment of Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip.

"Boris Johnson's desperate attempts to cover up what he knew about sexual assault complaints against Chris Pincher before appointing him have been blown out the water," her statement says.

"It is now clear that the prime minister knew about the seriousness of these complaints but decided to promote this man to a senior position in government anyway. He refused to act and then lied about what he knew.

"Boris Johnson is dragging British democracy through the muck. His appalling judgment has made Westminster a less safe place to work."

Image source, UK Parliament

In short, there are mounting claims about Chris Pincher’s conduct, what the prime minister knew about it and when he decided to appoint him to the role of deputy chief whip.

There's also the added element of what the government and its ministers have been saying publicly about the allegations - in terms of what concerns were raised, when, and what action was taken as a result.

Here's what we know:

• Last Thursday Chris Pincher, the Conservative MP for Tamworth, resigned as deputy chief whip saying he had “embarrassed himself” the evening before at a private members' club in central London
• Downing Street said at the time he would face no further action and would remain a Conservative MP because he had "done the right thing" in acknowledging what he had done and quitting.
• Pincher subsequently had the whip suspended (meaning he is no longer officially a Tory MP) after his behaviour was reported to Parliament’s behaviour watchdog
• Pincher had previously stood down from the whips' office in 2017, when he was accused of making an unwanted pass at former Olympic rower and Conservative activist Alex Story.

Within days of Thursday's events, multiple fresh allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Pincher emerged, dating back several years.

In its latest statement addressing what Johnson knew, Downing Street said the prime minister was aware of media reports and some allegations about Pincher's misconduct that were "either resolved or did not progress to a formal complaint".

For days, ministers have insisted Johnson was not aware of specific allegations against Pincher when the PM made him deputy chief whip - a role that keeps a check on the party's MPs at Westminster and enforces discipline within the ranks.

More now from Lord McDonald's interview on Radio 4's Today programme this morning.

McDonald, the ex-civil servant who ran the Foreign Office between 2015 and 2020, says No 10 Downing Street did not tell the truth when it said Boris Johnson was unaware of official complaints about Chris Pincher's behaviour.

McDonald was asked on Today about claims made by those defending No 10 that an investigation into allegations against Chris Pincher had been resolved.

"I dispute the use of the word resolved. For me, resolved is too positive a word. It sounds like there was a happy and agreed conclusion was reached. No, the complaint was upheld," McDonald told the BBC.

Asked why he's decided to speak out now, McDonald said No 10 "have had five full days to get the story correct and that has still not happened".

"Second, I do not approve of anonymous briefings behind the scenes. If I was to do this I should put my name to it."

McDonald said that it was possible that while Johnson was briefed in person, Deputy PM Dominic Raab may not have been.

McDonald said he had a conversation with Raab about the investigation, but did not tell him that Johnson had been informed in person.

No 10 "need to come clean", he added.

You can read the full text of Lord McDonald's letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, over No 10's statements about MP Chris Pincher below, or here.

Image source, .

Latest revelation adds to exasperation within the Tory Partypublished at 09:39 British Summer Time 5 July 2022

09:39 BST 5 July 2022

Chris Mason
Political editor

Lord McDonald's letter - and his view - is clear and blunt.

He sets out his evidence that Downing Street is, as he puts it, "not telling the truth".

"Mr Johnson was briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of the investigation" into Pincher, when he was a Foreign Office minister, McDonald writes.

"That is news to me," the Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, who was Foreign Secretary at the time, told the BBC this morning.

McDonald also cites other briefings to journalists from No 10 in the last few days, which he says were "not true" or "not accurate".

There is increasing exasperation within the Conservative Party - from the Cabinet down - that Downing Street is struggling to actually focus on the business of government rather than constantly firefighting crises, and answering who knew what and when.

Even those still supportive of Boris Johnson are worn down by what they see as persistent own goals that are hard, if not impossible, to defend.

No 10 is yet to formally respond to McDonald’s letter.

Last week might have been the first time you heard the name Chris Pincher, but he’s now firmly in the spotlight after being accused of groping two men while drunk at a private members club in London last Wednesday evening.

So, who is he?

Pincher has been the Conservative MP for Tamworth, Staffordshire, since 2010. He has held numerous government roles, under both Boris Johnson and previous PM Theresa May, including being a Foreign Office minister and Minister for Housing. He was until last week deputy chief whip - whose job it is to uphold discipline among Tory MPs.

Why is he in the spotlight?

On Thursday, Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip and apologised after he was accused of groping two men in a private members’ club.

The following day a complaint was lodged with the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) and he was suspended from the Conservative Party.

Since then, Pincher has faced a number of historical allegations of inappropriate behaviour, which he denies.

Image source, EPA

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has been on what's called the 'morning round', doing broadcast interviews on behalf of the government first thing today, and has been quizzed about Lord McDonald’s revelations.

Asked if Boris Johnson was briefed in person about the investigation into allegations against Chris Pincher, Raab tells the BBC: “That’s news to me, I wasn’t aware of that and it’s not clear to me that is factually accurate."

He says he’s discussed the situation with the prime minister over the last 24 hours and "it is not my understanding that he was directly briefed”.

Raab adds he “didn’t ask” Boris Johnson if he was briefed in person when they spoke.

Image source, Getty Images

Simon McDonald, the former top civil servant in the Foreign Office, has told the BBC that No 10 did not tell the truth when it said the PM was unaware of official complaints about Conservative MP Chris Pincher's behaviour.

McDonald told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Boris Johnson had been "briefed in person" about an investigation into Pincher, following complaints about his conduct when he was a Foreign Office minister.

McDonald said he knew Johnson had been briefed because the official who told the prime minister “told me so at the time".

He said there was no question Johnson knew about the complaint, and that “categorical assurances” to the contrary were "wrong".

When asked about the denials coming from No 10, McDonald said: “I do not think that is the way to behave.”

“It’s very unusual for a retired official to do what I have done this morning. I did it by myself because what I have seen and read over the last few days I knew to be wrong.

“Things get to a point where you have to do the right thing.”

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of events at Westminster, where Boris Johnson's decision to appoint Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip is facing further scrutiny after an intervention this morning by the former top civil servant at the Foreign Office.

Lord McDonald has written to Parliament's standards commissioner saying that he knew the PM was briefed "in person" about a formal complaint concerning the MP's behaviour when he was a foreign office minister more than two years ago.

McDonald told the BBC that No 10 Downing Street has not been telling the truth about what it knew about allegations against Pincher - who resigned as deputy chief whip last week after being accused of drunkenly groping two men at a social event.

In the past hour, Lord McDonald told the BBC that No 10 keeps changing its story.

It emerged last night that the prime minister was made aware of a formal complaint against Pincher before he was appointed deputy chief whip, despite previous claims that Johnson was not aware of any "specific allegations" when he made the appointment.

We’ll bring you all the latest developments, reaction and analysis of what this means for the prime minister and his government.