The sacking of Conor Burns as a minister follows a series of incidents in which Tory MPs have been accused of inappropriate behaviour. Burns told the Sun: “I will co-operate fully with the party’s investigation and hope to clear my name.”
July 30, 2020
Charlie Elphicke was jailed for two years for sexually assaulting two women. Photo: Kirsty O’Connor/PA
Charlie Elphicke has been found guilty of three counts of sexually assaulting two women, less than a year after he resigned as Conservative MP for Dover. Elphicke had denied all three charges, two of which related to a parliamentary worker. He was imprisoned for two years and was released halfway through his sentence. His wife, Natalie Elphicke, who succeeded him as Dover MP in December 2019, has said she has filed for divorce.
May 25, 2021
Rob Roberts was suspended from parliament for 12 weeks. Photo: UK Parliament/PA
Rob Roberts, the Tory MP for Delyn in North Wales, has been found by parliament’s independent panel to have made “significant” repeated unwanted sexual advances towards a former member of staff, as well as comments of an inappropriate nature sexual The Tories suspend him for 12 weeks, but allow him to rejoin the party in October 2021. He now sits as an independent.
December 10, 2021
Andrew Griffiths resigned as an MP after it emerged he had sent sexually explicit text messages. Photograph: Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament/PA
A High Court judge has found that former Conservative minister Andrew Griffiths raped his wife, subjected her to coercive control and physically assaulted her. Griffiths, who denied the allegations, resigned as an MP in November 2019 after it emerged he had sent up to 2,000 sexually explicit text messages to two much younger women. His wife, Kate Griffiths, who left him when the original stories broke, succeeded him as MP for Burton in Staffordshire. She has divorced him and reverted to her maiden name of Kniveton.
April 2, 2022
David Warburton is currently under investigation by Parliament’s independent complaints and complaints scheme. Photograph: PjrNews/Alamy
David Warburton, the Tory MP for Somerton and Frome, is suspended from the Tory parliamentary party following a series of allegations relating to sexual harassment and cocaine use. An independent Westminster Complaints and Complaints Scheme investigation is ongoing.
April 11, 2022
Imran Ahmad Khan arrives at Southwark Crown Court to stand trial on sex offense allegations. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Reuters
Imran Ahmad Khan, the Tory MP for Wakefield, is found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy after serving him gin at a party in 2008. He stands down as MP on April 28, triggering an election partials won by Labor. June 23
April 29, 2022
Neil Parish was forced to resign as an MP after admitting to viewing porn, which he said was by accident, while in the House of Commons. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
Neil Parish, the Tory MP for Tiverton and Honiton, lost the whip and resigned his seat a day later after admitting watching pornography twice in the House of Commons. His resignation led to a by-election which resulted in a decisive victory for the Liberal Democrats on 23 June.
May 17, 2022
An unnamed Conservative MP is arrested on suspicion of rape and other sexual offences. The MP, who has not been publicly named, has been ordered to stay away from Westminster while under investigation by the Metropolitan Police. He remains on bail.
June 30, 2022
Chris Pincher resigned as deputy chief of assault following allegations of drunken behaviour. Photo: UK Parliament/AP
Chris Pincher, the Conservative deputy chief executive, is resigning after admitting he had “embarrassed me and other people” after he was reported to have drunkenly groped two men at a private club. It is the second time Pincher has resigned from the whips’ office, having previously resigned in 2017 after it was reported he had made an unwanted pass at a Tory campaigner.