Saturday’s papers are led by the suspension of MP Chris Pincher from the Conservative party after an investigation was launched into allegations he drunkenly groped two men at a private members’ club.
Mr Pincher dramatically quit as deputy chief whip on Thursday after a drunken incident in which he allegedly groped two male guests at a London private members’ club.
The Prime Minister was under pressure to go further and suspend him from the Tory Party, while opposition parties said his position as an MP was untenable.
Double standards
Even ‘Tractor’ porn tory Neil Parish has said the Conservatives cannot show “double standards” and must remove the whip from former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.
With the MP suspended, the spotlight has turned on what the prime minister knew about allegations against Pincher, who had previously resigned from the whips’ office in 2017 following claims he made unwanted passes at a Tory colleague and acted like a “pound shop Harvey Weinstein”
The papers were not backing the PM either:
The Independent reports that the Prime Minister promoted the “groper” despite a warning about his conduct.
Saturday’s INDEPENDENT Digital: “PM promoted ‘groper’ despite conduct warning” #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/frqEE7kZ0H
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) July 1, 2022
The i says Boris Johnson has angered Tory colleagues for protecting the “groping” MP.
i Weekend: “Johnson hit by backlash for protecting ‘groping’ MP” #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/xgxVw3ZjGC
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) July 1, 2022
Mr Pincher will be investigated by parliament’s complaints watchdog, The Guardian adds.
Guardian front page, Saturday 2 July 2022: Questions for Johnson as Tory whip suspended pic.twitter.com/Pmcc1F3N76
— The Guardian (@guardian) July 1, 2022
The Daily Mail also calls him the “groping” MP on its front page, carrying allegations supposedly made by an “eye witness” that on the night in question Mr Pincher was too drunk to speak and was “staggering around the bar… lurching towards young men and propositioning them”.
Saturday’s @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages pic.twitter.com/VMVrV5wDET
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) July 1, 2022
Also reporting on the “sex pest” MP, The Times says more allegations of his misconduct have emerged after a “young Conservative activist” contacted the paper.
Saturday’s TIMES: “ ‘Sex pest’ Tory faces fresh claim by activist” #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/pGe4BAqTG5
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) July 1, 2022
Elsewhere, the Daily Express carries the PM’s plan to allow 50-year “family mortgages” to be shared by generations.
Saturday’s front page: PM’s bold plan: Buy dream home and pass on mortgage #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/n5ZsCf49m7
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) July 1, 2022
The Daily Mirror splash features an interview with a child abuse survivor who was groomed by Soham murderer Ian Huntley.
Saturday’s front page: My guilt over Huntley #tomorrowspapertoday https://t.co/qYbnT34yR2 pic.twitter.com/dUFFRXFkhl
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) July 1, 2022
The Daily Telegraph reports on more “holiday chaos” that is expected to hit Heathrow.
The front page of tomorrow’s Daily Telegraph:
‘Holiday chaos as airlines axe more flights’#TomorrowsPapersToday
Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/x8AV4O6L2Y pic.twitter.com/XiSzjEA5qu
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 1, 2022
While FT Weekend has the boss of Ryanair warning air travellers that they face years of rising fares.
FT Weekend: “Air travellers face years of rising fares, warns Ryanair’s O’Leary” #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/r8TmsObf0V
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) July 1, 2022
And the Daily Star says a racing pigeon turned up 4,000 miles away in the US after getting lost flying home.
Saturday’s front page: Stop that pigeon now 🤣#TomorrowsPapersTodayhttps://t.co/1W9r29PniA pic.twitter.com/1I7PMNyCvh
— Daily Star (@dailystar) July 1, 2022
Related: Watch: Johnson shook Ardern’s hand in the weirdest way as her old tweet about PM resurfaces