Why everyone’s talking about Boris and the thigh squeeze
Claim by journalist Charlotte Edwardes marks ‘a depressingly familiar #metoo moment’

Downing Street has refuted a report that Boris Johnson squeezed the thighs of two journalists sitting on either side of him at a private lunch when he was editor of The Spectator.
One of the women, Charlotte Edwardes, made the claim in The Sunday Times yesterday, saying the incident happened 20 years ago in the dining room at the magazine’s London offices.
Here is what you need to know.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did Edwardes say?
In her debut column for the Sunday Times’ Style magazine, Edwardes said she had been sitting to the now prime minister’s right during one of The Spectator’s “renowned” lunches.
“Under the table, I feel Johnson’s hand on my thigh. He gives it a squeeze. His hand is high up my leg and he has enough inner flesh beneath his fingers to make me sit suddenly upright,” she wrote.
“Afterwards, I confide in the young woman on his other side. She replies: ‘Oh God, he did exactly the same to me.’”
What was Downing Street’s response?
A No. 10 spokesperson simply said that the “allegation is untrue”, but The Sun claims Johnson issued a more stongly worded denial behind closed doors, apparently telling his aides: “This is f***ing untrue.”
Edwardes later tweeted that if the PM “doesn’t recollect the incident then clearly I have a better memory than he does”.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For more Talking Points about the stories that really matter - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues free–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
What happens next?
As The Sun notes, “sleaze scandals” are threatening to “engulf No. 10”.
The thigh squeeze allegation comes days after the PM was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over claims that while serving as London mayor, he used his position to “benefit and reward” US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri.
A Downing Street spokesperson insisted that “everything was done with propriety and in the normal way”. Meanwhile, an unnamed senior government source told reporters: “The public and media will rightly see through such a nakedly political put-up job.”
But the response to the thigh squeeze claim has been mixed among Johnson’s fellow Tories at the Conservative Party conference, currently taking place in Manchester. Health Secretary Matt Hancock drew condemnation for suggesting that Johnson should not be lectured about his “private life”.
Hancock later rowed back, telling Channel 4: “I know Charlotte well and I entirely trust what she has to say.”
Former cabinet minister Amber Rudd publicly agreed with that assessment of the journalist.
Former defence secretary Penny Mordaunt said Johnson “occasionally has the style of Frank Spencer in a china shop”, but insisted “he’s a decent person” and “cares a great deal about women and girls”. And Tory MP Rachel Maclean, who also works for the Conservative Women in Parliament group, described him as a “feminist”.
“Whatever these party figures believe privately about these allegations, they are struggling to address them satisfactorily in public,” says Ailbhe Rea in the New Statesman. “Their hope is that the issue will simply go away before someone veers off script and inflames the issue further. Given what we’ve seen so far, that looks unlikely.”
Paul Waugh at the HuffPost adds that “in many ways, this is a depressingly familiar #metoo moment”, but warns: “Expect more Tories, and Leave voters, to suggest new claims about his personal conduct are an attempt to stop Brexit.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
RFK Jr.'s focus on autism draws the ire of researchers
In the Spotlight Many of Kennedy's assertions have been condemned by experts and advocates
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
Protein obsession is oversaturating the health food space
Under the Radar Some experts say that fiber is now the most important macro to focus on
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Codeword: April 23, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
The anger fueling the Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez barnstorming tour
Talking Points The duo is drawing big anti-Trump crowds in red states
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Why the GOP is nervous about Ken Paxton's Senate run
Today's Big Question A MAGA-establishment battle with John Cornyn will be costly
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Bombs or talks: What's next in the US-Iran showdown?
Talking Points US gives Tehran a two-month deadline to deal
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Are we really getting a government shutdown this time?
Talking Points Democrats rebel against budget cuts by Trump, Musk
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Has Starmer put Britain back on the world stage?
Talking Point UK takes leading role in Europe on Ukraine and Starmer praised as credible 'bridge' with the US under Trump
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
Will Trump lead to more or fewer nuclear weapons in the world?
Talking Points He wants denuclearization. But critics worry about proliferation.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Left on read: Labour's WhatsApp dilemma
Talking Point Andrew Gwynne has been sacked as health minister over messages posted in a Labour WhatsApp group
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Trump and Musk are shutting down the CFPB
Talking Points And what it means for American consumers
By Joel Mathis, The Week US