Sarah Dines, who has been appointed under-secretary of state jointly at the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), is said to have told the accuser that his case was not “straight” based on his sexuality. The Sunday Times reported claims that Ms Dines – then an assistant whip – witnessed the alleged attack at the exclusive Carlton Club in London last week, after which she asked the accuser if he was gay. The alleged victim told the newspaper: “I was a bit taken aback by it and I said, ‘What’s that got to do with it? But yes, I am.” “And her words were, ‘Well, that doesn’t make it clear.’ He saw it all, that’s why I’m so angry.” Ms Dines, MP for Derbyshire Dales, is said to have later escalated the matter by reporting the alleged incident to her superiors. Her reported comments were put to Mr Johnson as he was questioned by the Commons Liaison Committee earlier this week, with Labor MP Chris Bryant asking if they amounted to “victim shaming”. Mr Johnson said he had not spoken to Ms Dines about the matter, but said: “I highly doubt Sarah meant to put it that way.” Mr Pincher resigned as deputy leader last Thursday after allegedly assaulting two colleagues at the Carlton Club the night before. He was suspended from the Conservative whip the next day after a formal complaint was made to the parliamentary watchdog that looks into allegations of bullying, harassment or sexual harassment, and now faces an investigation. Mr Pincher said at the weekend he was “genuinely sorry” for the disturbance he had caused after he had “too much to drink” that Wednesday and promised to co-operate fully with the investigation, adding that he was seeking “professional medical support”. Downing Street initially said Johnson was unaware of previous allegations against Pincher, but the outgoing prime minister later acknowledged he had been made aware of misconduct dating back to 2019. Mr Johnson said he regretted keeping him in government beyond that point. The controversy over the Pincher scandal unleashed a wave of entrenched disillusionment with Mr Johnson’s leadership, culminating in mass resignations and, ultimately, the prime minister’s downfall. In addition to Ms Dines’ new role, Downing Street announced six new appointments on Friday afternoon. Richard Fuller has been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer at the Treasury, Stuart Andrews has been appointed Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice and Alan Mack is now Financial Secretary at the Treasury. Rehman Chishti, Lia Nici and Brendan Clarke-Smith have been appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State at the Foreign Office, the Department for Uplift, Housing and Communities and the Department for Education respectively. Ms Dines has been approached for comment.
