Liz Truss sacks Conor Burns amid allegations of misconduct in new Tory humiliation

But the latest developments still piled pressure on the new prime minister, who promised to turn the page on Johnson’s premiership during her leadership campaign after a string of Tory’s marshmallow episodes.

Mrs. Truss has faced a difficult first month in officewith new opinion polls showing she has received no rejections after a week of Tory conference dominated by party infighting.

The Telegraph understands the incident which sparked the complaint happened on Tuesday night in a bar at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham hotel, which was partly hosting the Tory conference.

According to a source close to the investigation, the complaint alleged Mr Burns made inappropriate comments and actions towards a younger man. Mr Burns denies any wrongdoing.

The Hyatt was part of the “safe zone” of the Conservative Party conference, meaning it was frequented by delegates as they made their way between fringe events and receptions.

It was the hub of social life throughout the conference and the bar was packed late into the night with MPs, ministers, lobbyists and Tory campaigners.

“The Prime Minister took direct action”

Mr. Burns is a a close ally of Boris Johnsonwho played a central role in his initial Tory leadership campaign – he was later Trade Secretary, then Northern Ireland Secretary.

In 2020, he resigned from his ministerial post after an investigation found that he had threatened the director of the company due to a financial dispute with his father. He returned to the first bench in 2021.

On Friday night, a Downing Street source said Mrs Truss was not aware of any formal complaints about Mr Burns’ conduct before appointing him trade secretary last month.

The Telegraph understands that the complaint against Mr Burns was made on Thursday night by a third party witness to the events, rather than the alleged victim.

Wendy Morton, chief whip, told Mr Burns on Friday afternoon that he had been sacked as a minister and had been stripped of his Tory whip.

A Number 10 spokesman said: “Following a complaint of serious misconduct, the Prime Minister has asked Conor Burns MP to leave the government with immediate effect.

“The Prime Minister acted directly when informed of this allegation and is clear that all ministers should maintain high standards of behavior – as the public rightly expects.”

A spokesman for the Whips Office said: “We have suspended the whip pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct earlier this week.

“We take all such allegations very seriously. The Prime Minister was clear that the highest standards must be respected in public life.”

Mr Burns tweeted: