Secretary ‘should step down’
LONDON: There were calls yesterday for a senior Conservative ally of British Prime Minister Theresa May to step down as allegations of inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature were being investigated.
First Secretary of State Damian Green, 61, has been under fire since a woman came forward last week and accused him of touching her knee at a bar two years ago.
The Sunday Times newspaper then reported over the weekend that police had found pornography on his parliamentary computer during a raid in 2008. He denied the claim, which was made by a former police chief, and called it “political smear.”
Home Secretary Amber Rudd confirmed yesterday that a Cabinet Office inquiry already under way into Green’s past conduct would now be expanded to include the porn allegation.
An inquiry was launched into Green’s conduct after Kate Maltby, a journalist and Conservative Party activist who is three decades younger than Green, accused the politician of touching her knee “fleetingly” at a London pub in 2015 and then sending her a “suggestive” text message.
Two Conservative members of parliament – Heidi Allen and Anna Soubry – urged Green to temporarily step aside as the investigation continues into his conduct.
“In… the sort of companies I used to work in, that would be completely normal. If you’re innocent and you have nothing to worry about, then let the process take its natural course, and the right will come out in the end,” Allen said yesterday.
Defence minister Michael Fallon resigned last week after an accusation of misconduct was made against him. – dpa