The Conservatives will not investigate a claim by a TV producer that one of its London mayoral hopefuls groped her at No 10, as a spokesperson for Rishi Sunak said Downing Street was a safe place for women.
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 10 Downing Street.
Goodwin wrote in the Times that she had visited Downing Street to discuss a possible TV project with Korski, then an aide to the then prime minister, David Cameron.
A defiant Korski doubled down on Tuesday on an earlier denial, saying in a statement 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.”
In a later interview on TalkTV with the journalist Kate McCann, Korski said he had been asked during the vetting process for his mayoral run if there were any outstanding issues the party should be aware of.
“And I said to the party, seven years ago, there was a story,” he said. “I was never named in the story. As far as I know, there was no investigation. But I did mention this to the party.”
The allegations had come up again at a time when, he claimed, he was the “frontrunner” in the mayoral contest.
Korski also said he had written to Godwin after the meeting, congratulating her on some of her professional success. She didn’t respond, he said, adding: “But you know, people are busy.”
Goodwin wrote in the Times: “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.”
Korski is on a shortlist of Conservative candidates in the London mayoral contest, which pits him against two other contenders. Susan Hall, one of his rivals in the race, told the Sun that it was “for him to decide what he’s going to do”.
A Conservative party spokesperson said it had an established code of conduct and formal processes where complaints could be made in confidence.
However, in an indication that it would not investigate the allegations, they added: “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.”
The reluctance of the Conservative party to investigate means the spotlight now falls on Downing Street. It is unclear if any inquiry has been launched by the Cabinet Office, or when the prime minister was first made aware of the allegations against Korski.
Sunak’s official spokesperson refused to be drawn directly on the allegations during a briefing. But when asked if the prime minister believed No 10 was a safe environment for women, the spokesperson said: “Yes.”
Asked if Sunak thought it was important that allegations of harassment should be investigated, the spokesperson said: “Without wanting to be drawn into specifics, I think in any walk of life, I think the prime minister would expect that to be the case.”
Goodwin first went public about the incident in 2017 but did not name Korski at the time. She wrote in the Times that she was naming him now because “if this is a pattern of behaviour, then the people of London deserve to know”.
She went on in her piece to say: “What I felt was surprise and some humiliation. I was a successful award-winning TV producer with 40 or so people working for me; this was not behaviour that I would have tolerated in my office.”
Korski, an influential figure in British conservatism, is involved in organisations ranging from the Jewish Leadership Council to Bright Blue, a right-of-centre thinktank. A spokesperson for the latter said the allegations were the subject of internal discussions.
