The former deputy chief whip will no longer sit as a Tory MP, after allegations he groped two men.
Image source, PA MediaChris Pincher has been suspended as a Conservative MP after allegations he groped two men.
The party said he had the whip removed after he was reported to Parliament’s behaviour watchdog.
The former deputy chief whip quit his government job in a resignation letter on Thursday, saying he had “embarrassed myself and other people”.
Former housing minister Kelly Tolhurst has been appointed as his replacement, Downing Street said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was under pressure to suspend him from the party after senior Tory MPs and opposition parties said his position was untenable.
But on Friday, the action was taken after a formal complaint was made to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).
A spokesperson for Conservative chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris said the prime minister agreed that Mr Pincher should be suspended after a formal complaint had been made to the ICGS.
Witnesses told the BBC that Mr Pincher was seen “extremely drunk” at the Carlton Club, the Conservative Party members’ club in London, on Wednesday night.
The Sun newspaper first reported the resignation, saying he was drinking at the club when he is alleged to have assaulted two other male guests.
Several concerned Tory MPs contacted the Conservative whips’ office to complain about his behaviour, the paper said.
Dozens of people were present in a small room with a bar at the private members’ club including other MPs, ministers, club officials and people working in public relations, the BBC has been told.
In a resignation letter on Thursday, Mr Pincher wrote to the prime minister: “Last night I drank far too much.”
He added: “I think the right thing to do in the circumstances is for me to resign as deputy chief whip. I owe it to you and the people I’ve caused upset to, to do this.”
