Another Conservative government minister has been sacked from his role in the government for allegedly groping 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 fired from his government post by Prime Ministry Liz Truss on Friday over allegations of “serious misconduct” during the annual Conservative Party 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 paper that the complaint was not made by the man, but rather by a third party who had witnessed Burns being “handsy” with the unnamed person at the Hyatt Regency hotel bar.
A Downing Street spokesman said of the matter: “Following a complaint of serious misconduct, the prime minister has asked Conor Burns MP to leave the government with immediate effect. The prime minister took direct action on being informed of this allegation and is clear that all ministers should maintain high standards of behaviour, as the public rightly expects.”
Following the sacking of Burns from his ministerial role, the LGBT+ Conservatives group said that they have suspended his patronage “pending the conclusion of investigations”.
The prompt dismissal of Burns by Truss from his government post comes in contrast to the handling of the Chris Pincher scandal by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which ultimately proved to be the death knell for his administration. Pincher, who was elevated to the position of deputy chief whip by Johnson, despite Johnson being aware of previous sexual misconduct allegations 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 the previous allegations against Pincher, yet this was later backtracked and the then-PM was forced to apologise for placing Pincher into a position of power.
The scandal sparked a wave of resignations that ultimately forced Johnson into resigning himself.
Even prior to the Pincher affair, the Conservative Party was beset by sexual scandals, including the conviction of former Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy at a party in 2008.
Conservative LGBT+ group boss Crispin Blunt announced that 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 saying the accusations of assaulting a young boy during the trial were full of “lazy tropes”.
In April, Conservative MP David Warbuton was suspended from the Party after the Sunday Times reported that three people — women, this time — had made claims of inappropriate touching and comments to the House of Commons’ Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (IGCS). The next month, another unnamed Tory was reportedly arrested by the Metropolitan police on suspicion of rape.
In a statement defending himself on social media which was posted on Friday, Burns said: “Earlier I received a call from the Chief Whip Wendy Morton. Ms Morton informed me that a complaint had been received about me and she had passed it to Conservative Campaign Headquarters to investigate. I was not given any information about the complaint nor was I asked to provide any information.
“On the basis of this complaint Ms Morton told me that the Whip was being withdrawn and that I was standing down as Trade Minister. I will fully cooperate with the Party’s enquiry and look forward to clearing my name. I hope the party will be as quick to conduct their enquiry as they were to rush to judgement.”
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