A deputy mayor says Chris Pincher, suspended over sexual assault claims, groped him in 2005 and 2006.
Image source, Getty ImagesFurther allegations of sexual assault have been made against former deputy chief whip and MP Chris Pincher.
Conservative councillor Daniel Cook told Channel 4 News that Mr Pincher, who has been suspended as a Tory MP, groped him in 2005 and 2006.
Mr Cook, deputy mayor at Tamworth Council in Staffordshire, where Mr Pincher is an MP, said he had lodged a complaint with the Conservative Party.
Channel 4 reported that Mr Pincher denies the latest allegations.
He has been contacted by the BBC for a response.
Mr Cook, who waived his anonymity for his interview, said he felt angry at what had happened and wanted Mr Pincher expelled from the Tory party.
Allegations emerged last week that Mr Pincher was alleged to have groped two men in a private members’ club which led to his suspension.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson then faced questions from within his own party about what he knew and his handling of the allegations.
He apologised on Tuesday for appointing Mr Pincher to the government role, admitting he had been told about a complaint in 2019 and saying he had made a “bad mistake”.
That triggered a swathe of resignations in government including former health minister Sajid Javid and chancellor Rishi Sunak minutes after the prime minister’s statement.
Mr Pincher is facing six new claims of inappropriate behaviour stretching back several years, which he has denied.
Two police forces also investigated two allegations of sexual assault by a man believed to be Mr Pincher – one in London between 2010 and 2012, and another in Staffordshire in May 2019.
‘Under his wing’
Neither investigation resulted in any action and Mr Pincher denies the allegations, saying to Channel 4 News that the first he heard of them was when he was contacted by the broadcaster.
Mr Cook said he met Mr Pincher when he first started in politics as a council candidate in Tamworth for the 2004 elections aged about 28, and campaigned with Mr Pincher among others.
He told Channel 4 Mr Pincher, who “took him under his wing” as he stood to be an MP for the area, was drunk on both occasions.
Mr Cook said in 2005, while his wife was at work, Mr Pincher came to his house with a council colleague and “the next thing he knew.. cupped his hand around my genitals” and asked if he had any “good porn”.
A year later, he came round “stinking drunk” and cupped him again and grabbed him from behind and made reference to him being “a rising star” of politics in Tamworth.
Mr Cook said he reacted the first time by laughing it off and pushing him away, but the second time he threw him against his fridge and physically threw him out of his house and saw him stagger down his drive.
He said he felt angry about what happened and had come forward after other allegations had been made.
He added that if he had spoken out at the time, the matter could have been dealt with sooner.
A spokesperson for the Conservative Party said: “Mr Pincher’s membership of the Conservative party has been suspended pending investigation.”
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