Damien Green, the Prime Minister's most trusted Cabinet ally, is the latest MP to be caught up in the widening government sex scandal amid claims he made inappropriate advances on a Tory activist 30 years his junior.
They involve an academic and activist named Kate Maltby, who says she received a suggestive text message from Green after a photo of her wearing a corset appeared in a newspaper. Writing in The Times today, Maltby, 31, also describes a meeting that took place in a bar, when she and Green discussed her career and sexual affairs within Parliament. She claims he “fleetingly” touched her knee, and says the encounter left her “angry”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Responding to the “deeply hurtful” allegations, Green, 61, said it was “absolutely and completely untrue that I’ve ever made sexual advances on Ms Maltby”.
The Tories are not the only party in the spotlight. A Labour activist went public yesterday with allegations that a Labour Party official raped her at a 2011 political event. Bex Bailey told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that she was urged not to report the rape to the police, because it might “damage” her career.
A third woman told The Guardian about an alleged incident in which an unnamed MP pinned her to a bed during a parliamentary trip last year.
The accusations come after an unverified spreadsheet alleging sexual assault and harassment by dozens of MPs was leaked last week. Tory MP Michael Fabricant dismissed the list as gossip.
“It is a strange hotchpotch of rumor and gossip,” Fabricant told the Daily Mail. “I am listed over a single incident where I was said to be ‘inappropriate with a male journalist in a taxi’. What does that mean? Was it a risque joke that I told?”
It is unclear whether the allegations will lead to MPs losing their jobs.
“It’s very easy to see how the scandal could see the Government lose its majority on paper, if enough MPs are caught up in it, have the whip removed, and notionally end up sitting as independents,” says the New Statesman’s Stephen Bush.
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
-
Political cartoons for December 10Cartoons Wednesday's political cartoons include a titanic war crime, a hostile takeover, and skinny Santa Claus
-
Is a Reform-Tory pact becoming more likely?Today’s Big Question Nigel Farage’s party is ahead in the polls but still falls well short of a Commons majority, while Conservatives are still losing MPs to Reform
-
Taking the low road: why the SNP is still standing strongTalking Point Party is on track for a fifth consecutive victory in May’s Holyrood election, despite controversies and plummeting support
-
What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance
-
Is the G7 still relevant?Talking Point Donald Trump's early departure cast a shadow over this week's meeting of the world's major democracies
-
Angela Rayner: Labour's next leader?Today's Big Question A leaked memo has sparked speculation that the deputy PM is positioning herself as the left-of-centre alternative to Keir Starmer
-
Is Starmer's plan to send migrants overseas Rwanda 2.0?Today's Big Question Failed asylum seekers could be removed to Balkan nations under new government plans
-
Has Starmer put Britain back on the world stage?Talking Point UK takes leading role in Europe on Ukraine and Starmer praised as credible 'bridge' with the US under Trump
-
Left on read: Labour's WhatsApp dilemmaTalking Point Andrew Gwynne has been sacked as health minister over messages posted in a Labour WhatsApp group
