Anger is growing among senior Conservatives over the promotion of an MP criticised for her alleged handling of groping claims made against the former deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher.
One senior Tory said the appointment of Sarah Dines as a justice and home office minister was an “absolutely disgraceful decision”. Dines, who had been an assistant whip, has been accused by one of Pincher’s alleged victims of asking him if he was gay. According to an account from one of the complainants, she is alleged to have said the fact he was gay “doesn’t make it straightforward”.
Some in the party want Boris Johnson to reveal whether he was warned against promoting Dines by the civil service, as part of routine propriety checks.
A source familiar with the incident said the fact that Dines had been approached by the alleged victim and had followed up the issue with the chief whip showed she had taken it seriously. They said she had asked questions in order to establish if any prior relationship was involved.
Dines said: “I am honoured to be joining the ministry of justice and the home office departments as parliamentary under secretary of state. I look forward to working in two crucial departments delivering on our manifesto commitments.”
Her appointment is one of several to cause alarm and derision among Tory MPs, following the mass resignation of ministers last week. Andrea Jenkyns, a Johnson loyalist who has been made an education minister, has already been forced to explain why she made a rude gesture towards protesters outside Downing Street as she headed in to listen to Johnson’s resignation address.
Sir Jonathan Jones, the former head of the government’s legal department, has already raised questions over whether Jenkyns may have breached the ministerial code. The code states: “Ministers are expected to maintain high standards of behaviour and to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety. Ministers should be professional in all their dealings and treat all those with whom they come into contact with consideration and respect.”
However, there is currently no adviser on the ministerial code in place after the last incumbent, Lord Geidt, became the second to quit the post under Johnson’s leadership. Jenkyns admitted on Saturday that she “should have shown more composure”. However, she did not apologise and said that she had been provoked by abuse. “A baying mob outside the gates were insulting MPs on their way in, as is sadly all too common,” she said in a statement.
“I have also had seven death threats in the last four years, two of which have been in recent weeks and are currently being investigated by the police … I had reached the end of my tether. I responded and stood up for myself. Why should anyone have to put up with this sort of treatment? I should have shown more composure but am only human.”
Another newly appointed education minister, Brendan Clarke-Smith, MP for Bassetlaw, has previously compared England footballers taking the knee to the Nazi salute. In a Facebook post, he wrote: “The point here is that regardless of the original intention, the mixing of politics and football had disastrous consequences.” He has also said food banks were being used as a “political weapon” and challenged the idea that “people can’t afford to buy food on a regular basis”.
Joy Morrissey, formerly Johnson’s ministerial aide, has been made an assistant whip. She has “liked” a tweet describing prominent political journalists as “Putin’s fifth columnists” and another saying that the media had deposed the prime minister, which set a “dangerous precedent”.
Some also derided the appointment of Peter Bone, the Brexit hardliner and backbench veteran, as deputy leader of the House of Commons. Bone, the MP for Wellingborough since 2005, has often been a rightwing critic of incumbent prime ministers, but has defended Johnson in recent weeks.
Labour MP Chris Bryant said the appointment showed there was “no depths satire can’t reach”.
However, journalist and writer Michael Crick said there was “a lot of unfair snobbery and mockery” relating to Bone’s promotion. “He’s a committed parliamentarian and I imagine he’ll do the job of deputy leader of the house rather well,” he said.
