Theresa May has ordered an investigation into allegations that her deputy, Damian Green, made inappropriate advances to a female activist in the last two years.
Kate Maltby, who is 30 years younger than Green, the first secretary of state, told the Times he had “fleetingly” touched her during a meeting in a Waterloo pub in 2015 and sent her a “suggestive” text message after she was pictured wearing a corset in the newspaper.
Green, one of May’s closest political allies, said any allegation that he made advances to Maltby was “untrue (and) deeply hurtful”.
One Tory MP has called for Green to be suspended while the allegations are investigated. Green is the most senior politician yet to be caught up in a wave of allegations and rumours relating to sexual harassment and abuse swirling around Westminster.
Labour has launched an independent inquiry into claims that the activist Bex Bailey was discouraged by a party official from reporting an alleged rape at a Labour event in 2011 on the grounds it might damage her political career.
And in a separate case, a woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by an MP on a foreign work trip last year has said her allegations were not taken seriously.
Maltby, 31, said that 61-year-old Green was an old friend of her parents whom she had approached for advice after becoming involved in Conservative activism.
When they met for drinks, she said he suggested he could help her start a political career, before turning the conversation to the subject of affairs at Westminster.
Maltby said that he mentioned that his own wife was “very understanding” and she then felt a fleeting touch – so brief it was almost deniable”.
Angered by the incident, Maltby had no further contact with Green until he sent her a text message a year later saying he had “admired (her) in a corset” and invited her for a drink.
Writing in the Times, she said she renewed contact with Green after his appointment to the Cabinet, but doubted he knew how “awkward, embarrassed and professionally compromised” she felt about the alleged incident.
Green said it was “absolutely and completely untrue that I’ve ever made any sexual advances on Maltby”. He is understood to have instructed lawyers to dispute Maltby’s allegations.
In his statement, Green added: “I have known Maltby since she contacted me as board member of Bright Blue, the Conservative thinktank, in 2014, and we have had a drink as friends twice-yearly.
“The text I sent after she appeared in a newspaper article was sent in that spirit – as two friends agreeing to meet for a regular catchup – and nothing more. This untrue allegation has come as a complete shock and is deeply hurtful, especially from someone I considered a personal friend.”
May has proposed an independent mediation service for staff wanting to raise concerns about MPs’ behaviour and enforcing a grievance procedure overseen by MPs that is currently voluntary.
However, a number of MPs are pressing for tougher action, including an independent body to police the conduct of politicians similar to the Independent Standards Authority, which acts as the watchdog for expenses.
May’s chief whip, Gavin Williamson, made a rare public statement to the Express & Star, his local newspaper, saying it was for police to investigate anything wrong or illegal alleged to have been done by MPs.
A Downing Street spokesman confirmed that May had asked the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, to “establish the facts and report back as soon as possible”. Anna Soubry, the Tory backbencher and former minister, said Green should step down while the allegations are investigated.
Speaking to Sky News she said: “It is a serious allegation, because to me as an old criminal barrister it looks like a pattern of behaviour, it is difficult to believe it would be the first time.”
Soubry denied May had shown weak leadership over the issue. But she said the allegations against Green showed why it was necessary for both parliament and political parties to put in place new procedures to allow alleged victims to report abuse.