Prime Minister Boris Johnson's sister Rachel says Tory MP Caroline Nokes 'is not playing the game' by accusing their father Stanley of groping he
Boris Johnson's sister today claimed Tory MP Caroline Nokes is 'not playing the game' by alleging her father Stanley slapped her on the bottom nearly two decades ago.
Rachel Johnson questioned the value of the Romsey and Southampton North MP making the 2003 allegation in 2021, by asking: 'What does it actually achieve?'.
Speaking on her own podcast 'Difficult Women', the journalist and broadcaster said she did 'not defend male aggressive sexual behaviour'.
But the 56-year-old said she believed that making claims such as those made against her father by Ms Nokes 'redounds against women in the end'.
It comes after the Tory MP claimed Stanley Johnson forcefully smacked her on the backside and made a comment at the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool in 2003.
The allegations sparked claims by journalist Ailbhe Rea, who says she was 'groped' by Mr Johnson, 81, at a party conference in 2019. Mr Johnson says he has 'no recollection' of either incident.
Ms Nokes, 49, has been widely praised for speaking out about Mr Johnson's alleged behaviour, including by International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan who said women had for far too long had to deal with 'casual sexism, the wandering hand'.
But speaking on her podcast about the allegations, Ms Johnson said: 'He (Stanley) has been in a spot of bother because a female Tory MP didn't really play up and play the game because she revealed he smacked her bottom about 20 years ago.'
Rachel Johnson (pictured with her father Stanley (left), and brothers Boris and Jo (right)) questioned the value of the Romsey and Southampton North MP making the claims, asking: 'What does it actually achieve?'
It comes after the Tory MP Caroline Nokes claimed Stanley Johnson forcefully smacked her on the backside and making a comment at the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool in 2003She added: 'What worries me about it is, what does it actually achieve?
'My fear is, it does encourager les autres (encourage other) women to come out and say things that have happened to them, but also I've heard men saying "bloody women, you can't trust them and we don't know how to behave anymore".
'I'm not defending any sort of male aggressive sexual behaviour but I do think it redounds against women in the end.'
Ms Johnson made the comments in the podcast while speaking to former Weakest Link presenter Anne Robinson - who has previously rallied against modern day feminism and the #MeToo movement.
Ms Robinson, who recently had Johnson stay with her and described him as 'her best guest', also gave her view on the allegations made by Ms Nokes.
She said: 'What I believe is that it's not what I marched for.
'I never campaigned for women to start whinging 20 years later and suddenly have a memory of something that hadn't upset them at the time.
'Why didn't she say something?'
Ms Robinson added: 'I think your dad is perfectly safe. He's very safe in my house, he's wonderful company.'
Ms Nokes, a former immigration minister who now chairs the Women and Equalities Committee, raised the allegations against Stanley Johnson earlier this month.
She accused Mr Johnson of forcefully smacking her on the backside and making a comment at the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool in 2003, ahead of him running to be a Tory MP.
At the time, she was preparing to campaign to represent the Hampshire constituency of Romsey during the 2005 election. In the same election Mr Johnson ran for Teignbridge, in Devon.
'I can remember a really prominent man smacking me on the backside about as hard as he could and going, ''Oh, Romsey, you've got a lovely seat'',' Ms Nokes told Sky News.
The allegation prompted journalist Ailbhe Rea to say she was 'groped' by Mr Johnson at the party conference in 2019.
The journalist for the New Statesman magazine said he 'groped' her at the Manchester party conference in 2019, when Boris Johnson was Tory leader.
Stanley Johnson told the Sun: 'I have no recollection of Caroline Nokes, and no idea what she was talking about.
'Had I been asked about the allegation made by the journalist of the New Statesman, I would have said the same thing.'
Senior Conservative MP Caroline Nokes (left), 49, and New Statesman journalist Ailbhe Rea (right) have both accused Stanley Johnson of inappropriately touching them
The allegations have sparked calls for an investigation into Mr Johnson's conduct.
Labour has called for ‘criminal authorities’ to investigate the claims during a panel discussion on Sky News among four female MPs about abuse of women.
Mr Johnson also could be fired from a prestigious role as an environmental ambassador over the claims, it emerged last week.
The powerful Conservative Environment Network, of which he is international ambassador, said: ‘The alleged behaviour is not acceptable.’
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who is Boris Johnson's International Trade Secretary, also gave her view, praising Ms Nokes for speaking out.
Ms Trevelyan said women had for far too long had to deal with 'casual sexism, the wandering hand'.
Ms Trevelyan said that she was 'very, very glad' that Ms Nokes had raised the allegation, adding: 'It should always be called out.'
Asked if Mr Johnson will be investigated, Ms Trevelyan told Sky News: 'I will leave Caroline to work with the party on that but we have a robust system in place and I hope very much she'll be able to work that through with the party machine.
'But more widely this is something that all of us who are women not only in political life but in all sorts of life have for far too long have had to tolerate the sort of casual sexism, the wandering hand, that is completely unacceptable.'
Last week, Boris Johnson was grilled about sexual harassment claims against his father when he appeared before Parliament’s liaison committee of senior MPs.
Caroline Nokes faced down the Prime Minister this afternoon, having previously claimed the now 81-year-old senior Johnson inappropriately touched her in 2003
They included Ms Nokes in her capacity as chairman of the women and equalities committee.
Ms Nokes put it to the Prime Minister: ‘Isn’t it fair to say that if public sexual harassment was a specific crime, you might see women with more confidence to come forward?’
Mr Johnson replied: ‘All women should have confidence to come forward… and there are proper procedures for those claims and complaints to be investigated.’
The MP asked: ‘Should we not intervene earlier, before those harassing women become sex offenders?’
The PM said: ‘We need to prosecute people more effectively for things that are already criminal.’
Boris Johnson's father Stanley hits back after Nigel Farage highlighted his close links to Beijing - by revealing he is planning a trek across China
By Brendan Carlin for the Mail on Sunday
Boris Johnson’s father Stanley has responded to criticisms from Nigel Farage over his close links to China – by revealing that he is now planning a trek across the Communist state.
The admission came after the former Ukip leader demanded last week to know why Mr Johnson Snr was ‘yet again’ at the Chinese Embassy in London.
Mr Farage, now a presenter on GB News, has previously raised concerns over the Prime Minister’s closeness to Beijing and the ‘mysterious role’ of his father, who he said appeared to act as an ‘interlocutor’ between the Chinese embassy and No 10.
Stanley Johnson with Chinese officials and OneTribe TV’s Dale Templar
In an interview earlier this year, Mr Farage even asked if Mr Johnson Snr ‘financially benefits’ from China – a suggestion that Stanley Johnson branded wrong and ‘totally unforgivable’.
But Mr Farage returned to the issue last week after spotting that the PM’s father had posted a photo on his Instagram page of a meeting at the Chinese Embassy.
Mr Farage tweeted: ‘Why is the PM’s father at the Chinese Embassy yet again?’
On his Instagram page, Mr Johnson had written: ‘With China’s ambassador to the Court of St James, his Excellency Zheng Zequang, Political Councillor Zhang Limin and OneTribe TV CEO Dale Templar at Chinese Embassy, London.’
However, when challenged by The Mail on Sunday yesterday, the PM’s father revealed that he had been asking permission from the Chinese to complete an expedition he started 60 years ago to travel in the footsteps of Venetian adventurer and merchant Marco Polo.
Nigel Farage, now a presenter on GB News, has previously raised concerns over the Prime Minister’s closeness to Beijing and the ‘mysterious role’ of his father
Mr Johnson said that in 1961 he had begun a Marco Polo-style journey with explorer Tim Severin, travelling through Europe, Turkey and Iran on motorbikes, but had had to stop at the Afghan frontier with China.
‘We got right up to the Chinese border but we weren’t able to finish the journey,’ he said.
But now the plan was to complete the epic trip by travelling from the western edge of China and then travelling to Beijing, taking in the Great Wall of China – in an environmentally friendly, electric-powered vehicle if possible.
Told of Mr Farage’s question on Twitter, Mr Johnson toyed last night with inviting him to join him in China.
He said: ‘At the very least, Nigel should meet us either on the way or when we arrive in Beijing and we should have a serious toast to the success of China/UK friendship and of course, Marco Polo.’
Ironically, Stanley Johnson’s China trip plans emerged as his PM son was reported to be considering a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing next year in protest at China’s record on human rights.
But a Government spokeswoman stressed last night that ‘no decisions have yet been made’.
She added that ‘as the PM has previously said, the UK has long been opposed to sporting boycotts’.
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