May says the first she knew of Green claims was from newspaper report

THERESA MAY has said the first she knew about allegations of inappropriate conduct by former Cabinet Minister Damian Green was when she read about them in the press.

Conservative activist Kate Maltby, inset, has said she alerted Downing Street last year to Mr Green’s “pattern of behaviour”.

However, speaking to reporters during a visit to British troops in Cyprus, the Prime Minister said she had not been informed of the claims.

“The first I learned of these allegations was when Kate Maltby wrote about them in she said.

Ms Maltby, who is three decades younger than Mr Green, claimed he “fleetingly” touched her knee during a meeting in a pub in 2015, and a year later sent her a “suggestive” text message after she was pictured wearing a corset in a newspaper. The allegations, which Mr Green says he does not recognise, triggered a Cabinet Office probe into his conduct. That led to Mrs May sacking her deputy after he made “misleading” statements about allegations that police found pornography on computers in his parliamentary office in 2008. The Prime Minister said: “I recognise that Kate Maltby was obviously extremely distressed by what happened. “Damian Green has recognised that and he has apologised. I think that is absolutely the right thing to do.”

reported that Ms Maltby told a Downing Street aide about her claims against Mr Green in September 2016, and she was informed it was part of a pattern of behaviour, and that “the Prime Minister knows”.

A Downing Street source said: “The Cabinet Office conducted a thorough investigation into a number of allegations about Damian Green.

“The inquiry findings were published yesterday. The PM has made it clear that everyone should be able to work in politics without fear or harassment – that is why she has brought forward a new Code of Conduct for the Conservative Party, and set up a crossparty working group to make recommendations about the Houses of Parliament.”