by Another Conservative government minister has been sacked from his government role for allegedly fondling a man, as the party continues to be plagued by sexual misconduct scandals.
Conor Burns MP, a minister at the Department for International Trade, was sacked from his government post by Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday over allegations of “serious misconduct” during the Conservative Party’s annual conference in Birmingham this week.
According to a report from The Times of London, considered the newspaper of record in Britain, Burns’ alleged victim was a man. Government sources told the newspaper that the complaint was not made by the man, but by a third party who had seen Burns being “handy” with the unnamed person at the Hyatt Regency hotel bar.
A Downing Street spokesman said of the matter: “Following an allegation of serious misconduct, the Prime Minister has asked his MP Conor Burns to leave the government with immediate effect. The Prime Minister took immediate action when he was made aware of this allegation and it is clear that all ministers will be required to maintain a high standard of conduct, as the public rightly expects.”
After Burns was sacked from his ministerial role, the LGBT+ Conservative group he said that they have suspended its patronage “pending the completion of investigations”.
The immediate sacking of Burns by Truss from his cabinet post contrasts with former prime minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the Chris Pincher scandal, which ultimately proved to be the death knell for his government. Pincher, who was promoted to deputy chief by Johnson despite Johnson’s knowledge of previous allegations of sexual harassment against him, was accused of groping two young men at a private club in London in June.
Downing Street initially tried to claim that Mr Johnson was unaware of previous complaints against Pincher, but this was later withdrawn and the then prime minister was forced to apologize for putting Pincher in a position of power.
The scandal sparked a wave of resignations that eventually forced Johnson to resign.
Tory MP resigns as Deputy Whip amid allegations of Groping Two Menhttps://t.co/Qb6UMpHBgS
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 1, 2022
Even before the Pincher case, the Conservative Party was beset by sex scandals, including the conviction of former Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenager at a party in 2008.
Conservative LGBT+ group boss Crispin Blunt announced he would step down from his role and not stand for re-election after he rushed to defend Khan, calling the conviction a “miscarriage of justice” and calling the charges of assaulting a young boy during of the trial. they were full of “lazy tropes”.
In April, Conservative MP David Warbton was expelled from the Party Sunday Times reported that three people — women, this time — had made allegations of inappropriate touching and comments to the House of Commons’ Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (IGCS). The following month, another unnamed Tory was reportedly arrested by the Metropolitan police on suspicion of rape.
Conservative MP arrested on suspicion of rape: Reporthttps://t.co/p6BaEAqoEn
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) May 17, 2022
In a statement defending himself on social media posted Friday, Burns he said: “Earlier I got a call from Chief Whip Wendy Morton. Ms Morton informed me that a complaint had been received about me and had been forwarded to Conservative campaign headquarters for investigation. I was not given any information about the complaint nor was I asked to provide any information.
“Based on this complaint, Ms Morton has told me that the Whip is standing down and that I am standing down as Trade Secretary. I will fully cooperate with the Party’s investigation and look forward to clearing my name. I hope the party will be as quick to investigate as they are to judge.”
Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan sexually assaulted 15-year-old boy at party, court hearshttps://t.co/DoOwbLeWYA
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 31, 2022
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka
