Chris Pincher: Constituents urge MP to quit over 'groping' claims - but who is he?

Chris Pincher - the Tory MP who resigned as a whip on Thursday evening after being accused of "groping" two men - is being urged to resign by his constituents over the allegations.

He's been the MP for Tamworth since 2010 and held a number of senior roles but has remained relatively unknown to those outside politics during his 12 years in Parliament.

So who is he, and what do his constituents think of him?

The 52-year-old MP, who supported Brexit, has won four elections to represent the Staffordshire town of Tamworth.

A popular MP in Tamworth, he won a 19,634 vote majority in 2019 - but many people ITV News spoke to in the town want now want him to quit, despite believing he'd done a good job as their representative.

One constituent said what he was accused of was "absolutely bloody disgusting" and she was "ashamed" to hear about the allegations facing her MP.

A number, however, did say he deserves the chance to remain their MP.

Mr Pincher's Parliamentary career has seen him hold government roles including being a minister of state for Europe and the Americas, and minister of state for housing.

The personal information section says he's been a Conservative member since 1987 and in his "limited spare time outside of his work in politics", he enjoys playing golf, watching horse racing and grand prix, and reading.

Watch what Chris Pincher's constituents had to say about him:

The latest allegations against Mr Pincher are not the first of this kind.

In 2017 he was accused of displaying similar behaviour toward former Olympic rower and Conservative activist Alex Story, in an incident which allegedly took place in 2001.

Reports from the time say he attempted to untuck man's shirt, massaged his neck and told him he will "go far in the Conservative Party”.

The MP quit as a whip when allegations surfaced in 2017 and referred himself to the police but officers opted to take no further action.

But he was brought back as a government enforcer by Theresa May in January 2018.

When Mr Johnson became PM in July 2019, Mr Pincher was moved to the Foreign Office before returning to the deputy chief whip post again in February 2021.

Downing Street said Boris Johnson was unaware of previous allegations before he appointed him as deputy chief whip.

A No 10 spokesman told reporters on Friday: "I'm not aware of the prime minister being aware before any appointment.

"You'll be aware of the process that ministerial appointments go through and in the absence of any formal complaints, it was not appropriate to stop an appointment on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations."

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What led to his latest resignation?

The former minister told the prime minister he was quitting as one of the Tory party's chief discipline enforcers after drinking too much and embarrassing himself at a Conservative private members' club.

"I’ve embarrassed myself and other people which is the last thing I want to do and for that I apologise to you and to those concerned," he told the prime minister.

Complaints were made about him to Tory party whips over his conduct at the Carlton Club, after he was reportedly seen touching two men inappropriately.

After being informed of the grievances, the deputy chief whip resigned and referred himself for investigation.

In his letter to Prime Minister Johnson, Mr Pincher wrote: "Last night I drank far too much.

"I’ve embarrassed myself and other people which is the last thing I want to do and for that I apologise to you and to those concerned.

"I think the right thing to do in the circumstances is for me to resign as Deputy Chief Whip. I owe it to you and the people I’ve caused upset to, to do this."