A senior Tory official said the appointment of Sarah Dynes as justice and home secretary was an “absolutely disgraceful decision”. Dines, who was an assistant whip, was accused by one of Pincher’s alleged victims of asking him if he was gay. According to an account by one of the complainants, he was quoted as saying that the fact that he was gay “doesn’t make it clear”. Some in the party want Boris Johnson to reveal whether he was warned against promoting Daines from the civil service as part of routine fitness checks. A source familiar with the incident said the fact that Dines had been approached by the alleged victim and attended to the matter with the chief whip showed she had taken it seriously. They said he had asked questions to ascertain if there was any previous relationship. Dines said: “I am honored to be working at the Department of Justice and the Home Office as Under-Secretary of State. I look forward to working on two critical departments that will deliver on our manifesto commitments.” Her appointment is one of many to cause concern and derision among Tory MPs, following a mass resignation of ministers last week. Andrea Jenkins, a Johnson loyalist turned education secretary, has already been forced to explain why she made a rude gesture to protesters outside Downing Street as she headed to hear Johnson’s resignation speech. Tory MP Andrea Jenkins makes a rude gesture to the crowd outside Downing Street ahead of Johnson’s resignation speech. Photo: Twitter | Alex Clewlow Sir Jonathan Jones, the former head of the government’s legal department, has already raised questions about whether Jenkyns may have breached the ministerial code. The code states: “Ministers are expected to maintain high standards of conduct and conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the highest standards of decency. 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 ministerial code adviser after the last incumbent, Lord Geidt, became the second to resign under Johnson’s leadership. Jenkins admitted Saturday that she “should have shown more composure.” However, she did not apologize and said she had been abused. “A mob outside the gates was cursing MPs on the way, as is unfortunately all too common,” she said in a statement. “I have also had seven threats against my life in the last four years, two of which have come in the last few weeks and are currently being investigated by the police… I had reached the end of my commitment. I answered and stood up to myself. Why should anyone put up with this kind of treatment? I should have shown more composure, but I’m only human.” Another recently appointed Education Secretary, Brendan Clarke-Smith, MP for Bassetlaw, has previously compared England footballers kneeling to the Nazi salute. In a Facebook post, he wrote: “The point here is that regardless of the original intent, the mixing of politics and football has had disastrous consequences.” He also said food banks were being used as a “political weapon” and challenged the idea that “people cannot afford to buy food on a regular basis”. Joey Morrissey, a former ministerial aide to Johnson, became assistant whip. She liked a tweet describing prominent political journalists as “Putin’s fifth columnists” and another saying the media had ousted the prime minister, which set a “dangerous precedent”. Some also scoffed at the appointment of Peter Bone, the Brexit hardliner and veteran, as deputy leader of the House of Commons. Bown, MP for Wellingborough since 2005, has often been a right-wing critic of sitting prime ministers but has come to Johnson’s defense in recent weeks. Labor MP Chris Bryant said the appointment showed “there are no depths satire cannot reach”. However, journalist and author Michael Crick said there was “a lot of unfair snobbery and mockery” about Bone’s promotion. “He is a dedicated MP and I imagine he will do the job of Deputy Leader of the House quite well,” he said.
