Labour insiders were worried their attacks on Boris Johnson were in danger of backfiring right at the moment the Tory leader’s premiership imploded.
Their own research signalled voters were at risk of tiring of the relentless criticism of the then-Prime Minister over “Partygate” when a new scandal blew up.
The disclosure will fuel speculation Mr Johnson could have survived in Downing Street if top ministers, including then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, had not resigned.
A senior Labour figure said: “It was just getting to the point where it was getting dangerous for us. People were starting to say, ‘Why are they still harping on about that? Let him get on with the job’.”
But last summer Mr Johnson became embroiled in the debacle that brought his career as PM to a crashing end – and led to this Thursday’s Tamworth by-election.
On June 30 last year, MP Chris Pincher resigned as deputy chief whip as allegations swirled he had drunkenly groped two men at the Carlton Club.
Days later, former top Foreign Office civil servant Simon McDonald challenged claims Mr Johnson had not been aware of
formal complaints about Mr Pin-cher when he appointed him to the key role in the whips’ office. Lord McDonald said Mr Johnson had been “briefed in person”.
This revelation triggered mass resignations, spearheaded by Mr Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid on July 5. On July 7, Mr Johnson quit as Tory leader. A former Tory cabinet minister said: “The Labour Party, Left-wing campaign groups, and the civil service blob joined forces with a number of Conservative MPs to oust Boris Johnson.
“They deliberately took down a vote-winning political giant on course to deliver what he promised the British people. Now these people are jostling for positions and job titles and have lost touch with what the public voted for.”
Mr Pincher resigned as Tam-worth’s MP last month after losing an appeal against a proposed eight-week suspension from the Commons. Parliament’s standards commissioner found he had groped two men.
