Deputy PM Damian Green’s outrage over hard porn ‘smears’
THERESA May’s deputy Damian Green was last night embroiled in an astonishing row with a former police chief who claimed that hardcore pornographic material had been discovered on one of his parliamentary computers.
Bob Quick, a former assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, alleged that the material had been found on a PC in Mr Green’s office during an investigation into Government leaks in 2008. Last night Mr Green emphatically denied the claim, calling Mr Quick ‘a tainted and untrustworthy source’ who was trying to cause him ‘political damage’.
He said that he was not informed at the time that any material had been found and that neither
‘Leaking false information’
he nor his staff had ever downloaded any pornographic materials.
Mr Quick, who used to command the Met’s anti-terrorism squad, claimed that the material had been discovered when the Met launched its inquiry nine years ago into a series of Home Office leaks to Mr Green.
At the time, the politician was the Opposition spokesman on immigration.
The inquiry included a search of Mr Green’s Commons office, which triggered a political row.
The clash came as the turmoil over the Westminster sex scandal intensified, with Tory MPs stepping up their plotting to replace Theresa May.
Previously loyal Tory MPs have been dismayed by Mrs May’s ‘week from hell’.
The past few days have seen Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon forced to resign over his behaviour towards women – only for Mrs May to hand his job to her inexperienced Chief Whip Gavin Williamson.
Sources told The Mail on Sunday that a disastrous week for Mrs May has led to a ‘significant’ increase in the number of Tory MPs who want the Prime Minister to announce her resignation.
One, who had previously refused to add his name to the rebels’ list, said: ‘The time is coming.’
Downing Street hoped that it had killed off any leadership coup last month after it revealed that former Tory chairman Grant Shapps had been the ‘chief rebel’ in charge of assembling a list of MPs who wanted Mrs May to go.
No 10 instructed a string of loyal MPs to go on the airwaves to attack Shapps.
But the Shapps rebels now expect the number of dissenting Tories has reached the mid to high 30s.
One ringleader said last night a colleague had told him, ‘My God, you were right all along’, and said he should have put his name on the list earlier.
It was reported last night that Mr Quick will tell an inquiry into Mr Green tomorrow that if similar material had been found on a police officer’s computer, it could result in ‘gross misconduct’ charges and ‘dismissal’.
Mr Green is being investigated following allegations – which he strongly denies – that he propositioned a young Tory activist, Kate Maltby.
In a statement last night, Mr Green said: ‘This story is completely untrue.
‘I’ve been aware for some years that the discredited former Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick has tried to cause me political damage by leaking false information about the raid on my parliamentary office. The police have never suggested to me that improper material was found on my parliamentary computer, nor did I have a “private” computer, as has been claimed.
‘The allegations are false, disreputable political smears from a discredited police officer acting in flagrant breach of his duty to keep the details of police investigations confidential, and amount to little more than an unscrupulous character assassination.’
Scotland Yard declined to comment last night.