Daniel Korski has abandoned the contest to be the Tory candidate for the London mayoralty after a TV producer accused him of groping her a decade ago.
The Conservative said on Wednesday he was pulling out of the race “with a heavy heart” because the allegation made by television producer Daisy Goodwin was becoming a “distraction”.
Mr Korski had been resisting pressure to drop out as his supporters began distancing themselves and Downing Street described the allegation as “very serious”.
But he issued a statement announcing his exit after Ms Goodwin made a formal complaint to the Cabinet Office over the alleged sexual assault in No 10, when Mr Korski was a special adviser to then-prime minister David Cameron.
“I have decided, with a heavy heart, to withdraw from the Conservative mayoral contest,” Mr Korski said.
“I categorically deny the allegation against me. Nothing was ever put to me formally 10 years ago. Nor seven years ago when the allegation was alluded to. No investigation has ever taken place. I have been clear I would welcome and constructively participate in any investigation.
“However, the pressure on my family because of this false and unproven allegation and the inability to get a hearing for my message of ‘The London Dream’ makes it impossible for my campaign to carry on.
“The news agenda is becoming a distraction from the race and the Conservative Party.”
Ms Goodwin, who wrote the hit TV show Victoria, welcomed his departure.
She told the PA news agency: “I am glad he has withdrawn – it shows that women can speak out against misbehaviour in the workplace and be believed.
“If I was in the ethics department of the Cabinet Office I would be wondering why such behaviour went unchecked in Downing Street.”
The Conservative Party confirmed the race would go ahead with the two remaining candidates, Mozammel Hossain and Susan Hall, with hustings taking place as scheduled from June 12 to July 3, despite calls for the selection process to be reopened.
Samuel Kasumu, a former mayoral hopeful who failed to make the Conservative longlist, was among those urging CCHQ to “put this right” through a fresh contest with “more direct involvement” from members.
Ms Hall said Mr Korski should still be investigated over the groping allegation.
“Daniel fought a hard campaign with lots of fresh ideas and I appreciate his contribution to the debate.
“The allegations against him are serious and it is right that they are investigated in the proper way,” she tweeted.
Earlier in the day Ms Goodwin said she had been contacted by other women with “some very interesting stories” that make her “feel entirely justified” about making the allegation against Mr Korski.
And Downing Street declined to say if Rishi Sunak believes Mr Korski is a suitable candidate.
The Prime Minister’s press secretary said: “Obviously these allegations are very serious. They are allegations that have obviously been denied by Daniel Korski himself. They should be handled in the proper way.”
Asked if Mr Sunak would encourage anyone with complaints against former staff members to come forward, she said: “Yes, of course.”
I didn’t do what’s been alleged, I absolutely didn’t do that— Daniel Korski
No 10 would not set out whether it would fall within the remit of the Cabinet Office of the Conservative Party to investigate the allegation.
But Mr Sunak’s official spokesman suggested a “serious allegation” would be looked at by the “appropriate authority” regardless of the passage of time.
Ms Goodwin confirmed she has submitted a complaint to the Cabinet Office, although she told PA the process was “harder than trying to get a telephone engineer”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that since making the allegation public she has been “contacted by other women with some very interesting stories, which clearly I can’t talk about for legal reasons, but I feel entirely justified in having written a piece and naming him”.
Education minister Claire Coutinho told Sky News she was putting her support for Mr Korski “on pause” over the “very serious and concerning” allegation.
Senior Tory Robert Halfon had also reportedly suspended his support for the Korski campaign.
Mr Korski used an interview with TalkTV on Tuesday to deny acting inappropriately when meeting Ms Goodwin.
“I didn’t do what’s been alleged. I absolutely didn’t do that. Ten years ago, when it happened, nothing was said to me. Seven years ago, when this first came out, nobody alleged anything to me,” he said.
“I’ve had countless meetings in Number 10, have had thousands of meetings since then in my business career. I treat everybody with the utmost respect.
“I work hard to create an empowering and respectful environment, and I sit appropriately in chairs, and I try to treat everybody with respect in order to get the best out of a professional situation.
“I don’t know how she could have come away with that perception.”
The Conservative Party said it is not investigating the allegation.
