Tory MP Chris Pincher groped me as we posed for this picture, claims horrified charity fund-raiser

0
64

A CHARITY fund-raiser claimed last night that grope-accused MP Chris Pincher felt his backside as they posed for a picture.

Horrified Mark Dabbs said Chris Pincher made the un­solicited sexual approach after earlier stroking his thigh and giving him the “come on” in the MP’s constituency office.

Mark Dabbs claimed that grope-accused MP Chris Pincher felt his bottom as they posed for this picture
Boris Johnson is said to have referred to him as ‘Pincher by name, pincher by nature’
Mark said: ‘He waited until we were alone and then said some inappropriate things’

It comes on top of six new claims of inappropriate behaviour which emerged after Pincher, 52, quit as Deputy Chief Whip and was ­suspended over allegations that he drunkenly groped two men in a members-only London club.

Keen marathon runner Mark, 49, told HOAR that he went to see Pincher to ask if he would be interviewed for a book he was writing on MPs to earn cash for a hospice.

Hospital nurse Mark, who has a girlfriend, said he was astonished when Pincher became suggestive.

He said: “He waited until we were alone and then said some inappropriate things. He said how tall and slim I was, then wanted to know If I had a partner.

“I said I was a runner. And quick as a flash he replied, ‘Oh, that’s why you’re so slim’.

“Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he said, ‘I bet you’ve got stamina’.

“Then he said to me, ‘I bet you have strong legs’ before starting feeling the top of my thighs.

“He said I was very muscly. I thought it was all very strange.

“He gave me a look and made it very clear he liked me. He was very suggestive. It was vile.

“I was shocked that an MP would behave in this way.”

The meeting took place in Pincher’s office in Tamworth, the Staffordshire constituency he has represented for the Conservative Party since 2010.

Mark, of Great Wyrley, Staffs, continued: “This MP was doing me a favour. But when we took a photo he was touching me again, then feeling my bottom.

“He gave me his business card and said ‘Now you know how to contact me’. I thought, ‘Is this what happens in Parliament?’

“I just let it go, but wish I hadn’t. Maybe other reported incidents involving the MP wouldn’t have happened if I’d spoken up.”

Mark said Pincher was “stone-cold sober” at the meeting in 2018.

He said: “He knew what he was doing. He made it very clear what he wanted. Afterwards I asked myself, ‘Am I sending out the wrong signals? Was it something I said?’

“His was the opposite of normal behaviour. He was inti­mating. He wanted to do something with me, and see me again. He was looking at me in that sexual way, and talking at me in that way.

“I’m not naive and know when someone is interested. This was someone giving the ‘come on’.

“He was touching me and being totally inappropriate.

“He was helping me with my charity work and I think he thought he’d get something in return.”

‘MPs behaving badly’

Mark, who has voted Tory in the past, added: “When I heard about the other allegations I wasn’t surprised and thought I should make public what happened to me.

“If I did that in my job, I’d be out. There should be a by-election

“It should be put to the people of Tamworth. MPs behaving badly carry on and think they can get away with it but this sort of thing needs to be stopped. And people need to be accountable.

“He felt like he could do anything. I was just a lowly nurse. I couldn’t wait to get away. He made it very clear what he wanted.”

We revealed last week how Pincher quit his whip role after he was accused of groping two men in the Carlton Club in St James’s, central London.

One alleged victim, in his 20s, revealed Tory whip Sarah Dines was a witness. Fellow Conservative MP Mark Fletcher is said to have thrown Pincher out of the ­prestigious venue after seeing him staggering around a room.

Six other claims stretching back a decade have since emerged.

A man in his early 20s said he received unwanted sexual attention from Pincher at a London event ten years ago.

A former parliamentary researcher claimed that Pincher had pestered a man at a party conference in 2013 — and threatened to report her to her boss when she tried to stop him.

Pincher has also been accused of touching an MP’s inner thigh at a function in 2017.

Another MP said Pincher, after boozing, made an unwanted physical advance in his office in 2018.

In 2019, Pincher allegedly massaged an activist’s shoulders and tried to undo their shirt.

And last year, he allegedly tried to grope a man near the Tory-linked Carlton Club.

No10 had insisted Boris Johnson was “not aware” of any specific allegations against Pincher before he took him on as deputy chief whip in February.

But it has been claimed that the PM had referred to him as “Pincher by name, pincher by nature”.

Pincher had resigned as a whip in 2017 after being accused of making a pass at Olympic rower Alex Story.

He referred the incident to cops and was cleared in a Tory probe.

Pincher, who is now seeking help over the latest sexual misconduct claims, was approached for comment about Mark Dabbs’s claims.

HOAR revealed Chris Pincher’s drunken shame
Pincher’s resignation letter to the Prime Minister