Tory aide cleared of sex assault was ‘publicly shamed’

Sir Michael Fallon’s former adviser lambasts justice system as he seeks to get career back on track

A FORMER aide to Sir Michael Fallon who was acquitted of sexual assault has said he was “cruelly and publicly shamed” during the trial, as he vowed to get his political career back on track. Richard Holden became the second Tory aide to be cleared of a sexual crime in six months.

Mr Holden, who was accused of groping a woman under her skirt at a party in London in 2016, was cleared by a jury in less than an hour.

The 33-year-old was employed as one of the former defence secretary’s media advisers until early last year. He was found not guilty of one count of sexual assault at Southwark Crown Court yesterday and his suspension from the Conservative Party was lifted. It came months after he also gave evidence in a fellow Tory aide’s rape trial. Upon his acquittal, he hit out at the handling of the case saying that police had a duty to pursue the evidence “wherever it leads”.

He said the allegation was supposed to have taken place in a room of 15 to 20 people, “none of whom corroborated the claim” and said “what was alleged did not happen”. In a statement after the verdict, he said he hoped that the “serious issues raised concerning disclosure and police investigations into alleged sexual crimes by this and many other recent cases will ensure that the police and CPS reflect and instead use the significant resources at their disposal to get justice rather than pursuing spurious allegations”.

Mr Holden said the decision to pursue his case was a “travesty”, adding: “It has been a cruel public shaming and an utter waste of time and resources.”

He added: “I desperately hope that the assurances I received that following the outcome of this case, that I would again be able to serve the country I love, and the party of which I have been a member for almost 20 years, will be made good on.”

A senior party source said last night that Mr Holden’s suspension has been lifted, and that he will have the same rights as any other member to work for the Conservatives in the future.

Mr Holden was released from the dock after the verdict. Judge Deborah Taylor said: “Obviously, the defendant leaves the court without a stain on his character.” The alleged victim, who is in her 20s, told the jury Mr Holden kept giving her hugs and telling her how beautiful she was during the party on Dec 17, 2016. He was alleged to have put his hands around her waist before moving his hands up her skirt and touching her intimately.

Mr Holden, of Lambeth, south London, said the incident did not occur. Last year, he appeared in court to give evidence for Samuel Armstrong, the chief of staff for Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, who was accused and cleared of raping a woman at Westminster.