The spokesperson refused to deny a claim that Johnson used to refer to
Pincher as “Pincher by name, pincher by nature” before making him
deputy chief whip. (See 10.26am.) Asked about the claim, the
spokesperson said: I’ve seen those unsubstantiated source quotes and I
don’t intend to respond to them.
When it was put to the spokesperson that the quote was not
unsubstantiated, but something that Dominic Cummings, the PM’s former
chief adviser, seems to have heard first-hand, the spokesperson
replied:
I’m simply not going to comment on content of what was or wasn’t said
in private conversations.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2022/jul/04/keir-starmer-labour-brexit-policy-boris-johnson-chris-pincher-uk-politics-live