May crisis after Tory sex shame ‘cover-up’
Tory MPs call for PM’s pal to stand aside in porn probe HomeSecretary: Clean-up drive is a watershed moment Top aides facing claims they ‘sat on’ serious allegations
THERESA May’s deputy Damian Green was battling to keep his job last night following allegations that “extreme porn” was found on his office computer.
A Whitehall inquiry into his behaviour has now been extended to look into the claims.
It came on another torrid day for the Government where Home Secretary Amber Rudd called for MPs guilty of sexual harassment to be booted out of Parliament.
There was also fresh evidence of a possible cover-up by Tory whips of inappropriate behaviour by MPs.
And it was claimed Sir Michael Fallon sensationally quit as Defence Secretary last week after a female journalist came forward to allege he “lunged” at her and tried to kiss her in 2003. PM Mrs May is now preparing to meet Labour and Liberal Democrat chiefs Jeremy Corbyn and Sir Vince Cable to draw up new rules to tackle misconduct.
Claims of porn on Damian Green’s computer came from former Met assistant commissioner Bob Quick.
He alleged the indecent material was found to be lawful and was discovered by officers during a raid on Mr Green’s offices in 2008.
The senior Tory denied the claims, posting on Twitter: “This story is completely untrue and comes from a tainted and untrustworthy source.”
But Mr Quick yesterday stood by his allegation and said he had made an appointment to speak to the Cabinet Office, which has launched an inquiry into Mr Green’s behaviour. He was already being investigated into claims made last week that he acted inappropriately with a Tory activist. Kate Maltby, a writer and academic three decades his junior, alleged he “fleetingly” touched her knee during a meeting at a pub in 2015. He is also accused of sending her a text saying he “admired” her in a corset, after she was pictured wearing one in a newspaper feature. Mr Green dismissed the allegations he behaved inappropriately as “untrue” and “deeply hurtful”. Amber Rudd said she “looked forward” to Mr Green clearing his name before adding she believed allegations against him and others were a “watershed moment” and would lead to a “clearing out Westminster of that sort of behaviour”.
She said: “I think that Westminster afterwards, including the Government, will be better for it.
“When we are confident that men and women can work in a respectful environment and people who have been on the receiving end of abuse of power can come forward, that will be a positive thing.”
Fellow Tory MPs Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen said Mr Green, the First Minister of State and effectively the deputy Prime Minister, should step aside during the investigation.
Mrs Allen claimed that in any businesses outside of Westminster it would be “completely normal” for a boss to take a leave of absence during an investigation.
She said: “If you’re innocent and have nothing to worry about, let the process take its natural course and
the right will come out in the end.” Asked specifically if she thought Mr Green should stand down, she replied: “Yes. I would.”
And Ms Soubry said Mr Green should have been “suspended so we could have a proper inquiry”.
Meanwhile, two of Mrs May’s closest aides faced allegations of “sitting on” reports of MPs’ conduct, despite concerns being raised with the whips’ office.
Gavin Barwell, the PM’s Chief of Staff, was number three in the office when alleged concerns about the behaviour of Sir Michael Fallon were raised.
During the same period, a serious allegation against Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke, who was suspended from the party over the weekend, was made to the whips’ office. It has been reported that both allegations would have been briefed to Gavin Williamson, who later became Chief Whip before being promoted to Defence Secretary to replace Sir Michael last week, but apparently no action was taken.
It is believed that Julian Smith, who referred Mr Elphicke to the police on Friday night over the claims, would have been made aware as Williamson’s deputy.
Downing Street did not comment on the matter last night.
Ms Soubry yesterday urged the PM to order Government whips to tell her everything. Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr, she said: “All the stuff that they know must be given to the PM and her aides… and we must do things properly. Not behind the scenes – in some cases covering up – which is totally unacceptable. But also if there are allegations they go to the police or some other body immediately, so they don’t find themselves being trashed in the newspapers.”
Ms Soubry also said that Sir Michael resigned hours after a journalist came forward to allege he “lunged” at her and tried to kiss her in a Commons ante room in 2003.
Jane Merrick was a 29-year-old junior reporter on a national newspaper at the time. Sir Michael had apologised for touching the knee of another journalist, Julia Hartley-Brewer, 15 years ago. But Ms Merrick said she was persuaded to go to No10 because she felt the Cabinet heavyweight’s behaviour was being “laughed off ” and treated as a “one-off incident”.
A besieged Mrs May will today meet with fellow leaders Mr Corbyn and Sir Vince.
She will also give a speech to the CBI calling for a “new culture of respect in Westminster”. The PM will add: “One in which everyone can feel confident that they are working in a safe and secure environment, where complaints can be brought forward without prejudice and victims know that those complaints will be investigated properly.”
THERESA May regularly talks a better game than she plays and so her deeds fail to match her words on abuse in Westminster by Tory men who prey on others.
The whiff of a cover-up is in the air and we urge the Prime Minister to suspend senior Conservatives under investigation for alleged harassment and issue a full statement on what her party’s whips in Parliament knew about charges levelled against named individuals.
Her meeting with other party leaders – and they must also be open and frank – must not be seen as a manoeuvre to bury past excuses by focusing exclusively on the future.
Women in Westminster and wider politics have as much right as women everywhere to be free of harassment and abuse.
May must set an example. That means zero tolerance of intimidatory, powerful men who wrongly believe they can do pretty much what they please, taking advantage of political positions to pursue and proposition women left feeling humiliated and degraded.
Whose side are you really on, Mrs May?