Groper MP Chris Pincher formally quits sparking crunch by-election for Rishi Sunak
DISGRACED ex-Tory MP Chris Pincher formally resigned from his Tamworth seat today, triggering a second by-election headache for Rishi Sunak.
In July parliament’s sleaze watchdog recommended Mr Pincher be suspended from the Commons for eight weeks after he groped two men at a private members’ club.
The former deputy chief whip tried to appeal the penalty but failed.
In a statement he said: “I have said already that I will not stand at the next general election.
“However, following the Independent Expert Panel’s decision I wanted to talk to my office team and family.
“I do not want my constituents to be put to further uncertainty, and so in consequence I have made arrangements to resign and leave the Commons.
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“Tamworth is a wonderful place and it has been an honour to represent its people.”
He added: “I shall make no further comment at this time.”
Parliament’s Independent Expert Panel found the ex-minister’s behaviour “was completely inappropriate, profoundly damaging to the individuals concerned, and represented an abuse of power”.
It said Mr Pincher touched his victim’s bottom “before moving his hand to touch and squeeze the witness’s testicles, which lasted for a few seconds”.
The victim described the incident “as having been traumatic and having impacted his wellbeing”.
The Pincher scandal, first revealed by The Sun, helped trigger the fall of Boris Johnson last summer.
It means the PM faces two huge by-election headaches in the weeks to come – as he gears up for his party conference, and marking his first year in the top job in November.
Ex-Cabinet Secretary Nadine Dorries formally quit as the MP for Mid Bedforshire last month after a savage attack on the PM.
She claimed the Prime Minister had opened the gates to whip up a frenzy leaving cops to visit her home amid a slew of threats.
Her formal departure emerged in a 1,787-word letter to the PM having first revealed she would quit in June after not receiving Peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list.
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Alongside the by-elections in England, the SNP and Labour will battle head-to-head to win over Rutherglen and Hamilton West in Scotland.
The seat’s former MP Margaret Ferrier was convicted of culpable and reckless conduct a year ago over her 2020 trip from London to Scotland while knowing she had Covid.