Chris Pincher appeals against proposed 8-week suspension following allegations of groping

Appeal confirmed in letter from Independent Expert Panel

Former government whip Chris Pincher is appealing against a proposed eight-week suspension following allegations that he drunkenly groped two men at London’s exclusive Carlton Club last year.

The Standards Committee earlier this month found that the MP’s conduct last summer was “profoundly damaging” and amounted to an abuse of power.

The committee upheld allegations Mr Pincher “groped” two men at the club while he was the Conservative deputy chief whip, in a scandal that hastened Boris Johnson’s downfall.

Thursday was the last day for Mr Pincher, who remains MP for Tamworth, to lodge an appeal against the committee’s findings.

The proposed suspension exceeds the 10-day threshold that could trigger a recall petition in his Staffordshire seat.

The appeal was confirmed in a letter from the Independent Expert Panel, which determines appeals, to the Commons Speaker.

The start of summer recess had meant that even if he had not appealed, MPs would not have been able to approve any suspension until September.

It came as it emerged that Mr Pincher received a £7,920 severance payment after stepping down at the end of June 2022.