Tory MP Claire Coutinho has become the second minister to “pause” her support for Daniel Korski.
Ms Coutinho, the children’s minister, had previously endorsed Mr Korski’s campaign. She is the second education minister to reconsider, following fellow education minister Robert Halfon who paused his support on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday she was asked on nine occasions by Kay Burley on Sky News whether she had sympathy for Mr Korski but did not answer the question directly.
Ms Coutinho said: “I think the allegation is very serious. I think the behaviour described has no place in society, it has no place in the workplace.
“The right thing is to make sure that we have a good candidate for the Mayor of London.
“I would say I would be on pause at the moment. If there is a complaint in the system, it needs to be followed up swiftly. I do think it’s a very concerning and serious allegation.
“It is a decision for Mr Korski about whether he continues to stand. The behaviour that is described in that allegation is incredibly serious.”
Mr Korski has denied the “baseless” claim by Ms Goodwin, who wrote hit TV show Victoria, following an incident which allegedly took place while he was a special adviser to then prime minister David Cameron.
Ms Goodwin confirmed she has submitted a complaint to the Cabinet Office, although she said it was “harder than trying to get a telephone engineer”.
She posted a picture on Instagram showing an automatic reply to her email.
“I sent an email at 5pm yesterday saying that I want to make a complaint about Daniel Korski – and who should I speak to,” she told the PA news agency.
After reports that she had made a complaint emerged, she said she “got an email from someone in (the Cabinet Office) ethics (team) suggesting we talk – I am waiting to for that to happen!
“It’s harder than trying to get a telephone engineer.”
— Daniel Korski (@DanielKorski) June 27, 2023
Mr Korski has said it is “categorically” untrue that he groped Ms Goodwin and has pledged to stay in the race to become the Conservative candidate for London mayor.
The Cabinet Office declined on Wednesday to confirm whether a formal complaint has been made.
Mr Korski used an interview with TalkTV on Tuesday to say he had met Ms Goodwin, but denied that anything improper had occurred.
“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.
“I just didn’t do what’s being alleged.
“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.
Thank you for your support @ClaireCoutinho
— Daniel Korski (@DanielKorski) June 15, 2023
"Dan has a clear vision for London. He is focused on solutions not problems and will be a great Mayor. I am thrilled to back him."- Claire Coutinho MP, Minister for Children pic.twitter.com/qwsolpIToc
“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.
“I certainly didn’t leave the meeting feeling that I had done anything wrong, and subsequently even wrote to her, congratulating her on some of her professional success. But I don’t really know why she felt the way she did.”
In the interview he acknowledged that the allegation had been raised as part of the process for choosing the Conservatives’ candidate to become London mayor.
“During the process, I was asked about if there were any outstanding issues the party may be aware of. I said to the party, seven years ago there was a story. I was never named in the story. As far as I know, there was no investigation. But I did mention this to the party.”
Asked by TalkTV if he has always been faithful to his wife, he said: “Look, I mean, I have a fantastic marriage to my wife. And I’m really, you know, excited that we’ve built a fantastic family together. I don’t think it would be appropriate to talk about anything else.
“I have a loving relationship with my wife. We’ve been together for 22 years. We met originally in Bosnia after the war. And, you know, I’m thrilled to build a life and a family with her.”
The Conservative Party said on Tuesday that it is not investigating the claim.
Downing Street said Number 10 is a safe environment for women. It refused to be drawn on the individual case or whether there would be a Cabinet Office investigation into Mr Korski.
A Tory spokesman said: “The Conservative Party has an established code of conduct and formal processes where complaints can be made in confidence.
“The party considers all complaints made under the code of conduct but does not conduct investigations where the party would not be considered to have primary jurisdiction over another authority.”
