A former adviser to David Cameron is resisting pressure to drop out of the London mayoral race after the Conservative party said it would not investigate a claim by a TV producer that he had groped her at No 10 a decade ago.
The Tories are facing questions about their vetting and selection processes after the allegations by Daisy Goodwin that Daniel Korski put his hand on her breast when she met him 10 years ago in Downing Street.
The Guardian can reveal that Korski, one of three remaining candidates on the party’s shortlist for the race, was called in to Conservative headquarters for an interview after “red flags” emerged early in the vetting process.
In an interview with TalkTV on Tuesday, he revealed he had previously faced allegations of groping a woman, whose name at that point was not in the public domain, but categorically denied any inappropriate behaviour.
Support for Korski among Conservative MPs appeared to be draining away. Senior Tories are worried about the accusation damaging the party’s reputation, with some privately suggesting that he should withdraw from the race.
At a meeting at the office of one supporter, the Guardian understands those attending discussed whether Korski should continue. Most were said to have favoured him pulling out, but believed he needed to come to that conclusion himself.
One friend of Korski, who has been speaking to him regularly, insisted that he planned to “stay in the race”. The winner of the Conservative selection process to take on Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor, next year is due to be announced on 19 July.
Korski issued a statement mid-afternoon on Tuesday that was almost exactly the same as a defiant message in the early hours that morning to supporters, leading insiders to expect he would try to stay the course.
Goodwin first went public about the alleged incident, which she said took place when she visited No 10 to discuss a possible TV project with Korski, in 2017, but did not name him at the time. She wrote in the Times on Monday that she was naming him now because “if this is a pattern of behaviour, then the people of London deserve to know”.
She added: “When we both stood up at the end of the meeting and went to the door, the spad [special adviser] stepped towards me and suddenly put his hand on my breast. Astonished, I said loudly: ‘Are you really touching my breast?’ The spad sprang away from me and I left.
“Although I suppose legally his action could be called sexual assault, I have to say that I did not feel frightened. I was older, taller and very possibly wiser than the spad, and having worked for the BBC in the 80s I knew how to deal with gropers.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Korski doubled down on his denials, saying that “politics can be a rough and challenging business”. He added: “Unfortunately, in the midst of this demanding environment, this baseless allegation from the past has resurfaced. I want to unequivocally state that I categorically deny any claim of inappropriate behaviour. I denied when it was alluded to seven years ago and I do so now.”
It is understood that just before the initial longlist of eight candidates was disclosed, Korski and at least one other person were called in to Conservative headquarters for interviews after what was described as “red flags” emerged in the vetting process.
The discussion was sufficiently protracted that publishing the longlist was delayed. “There is one thing that is beyond doubt: whatever worries there were about Korski, the party knew about them,” one source said.
The government and Conservative central headquarters appeared to be at loggerheads over who should investigate the claim. No 10 refused to say whether an inquiry would be launched, while a spokesperson for the Conservative party said it would not look at incidents that took place somewhere another authority had “primary jurisdiction”.
A Whitehall source said the propriety and ethics team in the Cabinet Office had ruled it was clearly a matter for the Conservative party, rather than government.
Korski is up against two other contenders. One of them, Susan Hall, a London assembly member, told the Sun it was “for him to decide what he’s going to do”. The other shortlisted candidate, Moz Hossain, a barrister with little political experience, is thought to be No 10’s favourite.
