Tory party ‘knew about groping claims against Daniel Korski’ but put him on London mayor shortlist anyway
Suspend mayoral candidate and launch a ‘thorough investigation’, says Labour
The Conservative Party is facing growing pressure to investigate allegations a London mayoral hopeful groped a TV producer’s breast in Downing Street.
The party initially said it would not look into claims Daniel Korski sexually assaulted Daisy Goodwin because it had not received a formal complaint. But on Tuesday evening Ms Goodwin said she had contacted the Cabinet Office to do just that.
And in an extraordinary development, Mr Korski claimed party bosses knew about the allegations, which he denies, long before they were revealed in public on Monday night.
Mr Korski said he disclosed them during the mayoral race vetting process after he was asked 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. I was never named in the story. As far as I know, there was no investigation.’ But I did mention this to the party,” he said.
In an interview with Talk TV, Mr Korski insisted he was still standing to become the Tory mayoral candidate, adding: “All I can say is that she is wrong”.
Ms Goodwin told The Times on Tuesday evening she had now contacted the Cabinet Office to make a formal complaint.
Labour has called for Mr Korski to be suspended from the party and urged the Tories to launch a “thorough investigation”.
Marsha De Cordova, Labour MP for Battersea in southwest London, condemned the lack of an inquiry, saying: “Ignoring these allegations while the prime minister claims that tackling sexual violence against women is a priority for his government is disingenuous.”
She also highlighted that Mr Korski was a “senior government employee” at the time of the alleged incident, and called for a Cabinet Office probe as well.
Earlier, Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said the prime minister would expect harassment allegations to be investigated “in any walk of life”, despite his party’s refusal to probe the claims.
When asked if the PM considered No 10 a safe environment for women, the spokesman replied, “yes”.
Ms Goodwin, who created ITV drama Victoria, has accused Mr Korski of touching her breast a decade ago at the end of a meeting in Downing Street.
She said Mr Korski, who was then a special adviser to David Cameron and is 15 years her junior, had made an “awkwardly flirtatious” comment about her sunglasses, comparing her to Italian actress Monica Bellucci. He then rested his feet on the edge of her chair, before “leaning back so that I could get a clear view of his crotch”. As the pair stood up at the end of the meeting, Ms Goodwin said Mr Korski stepped toward her and “suddenly put his hand on my breast”.
Mr Korski has “categorically” denied any wrongdoing. “Politics can be a rough and challenging business. Unfortunately, in the midst of this demanding environment, this baseless allegation from the past has resurfaced,” he said in a statement on Twitter.
“It is disheartening to find myself connected to this allegation after so many years, but I want to unequivocally state that I categorically deny any claim of inappropriate behaviour. I denied when it was alluded to 7 years [ago] and I do so now.”
Confirmation Mr Korski would not be investigated came as the entrepreneur faced growing pressure to step back from the mayoral race.
A senior Tory MP told The Independent: “With less than a month to go before we choose our candidate, the wheels are falling off a front-runner’s campaign.
“It shows what a farce the selection process has been. Paul Scully should have been on the shortlist. He is tried and tested and is used to public scrutiny.” Mr Scully, the government’s minister for London, failed to make it on to the Conservative shortlist for the race.
Nic Conner, who helped Samuel Kasumu bid for the Tory mayoral ticket called on the party to “act now”. “With just under 4 weeks left to run on the Conservative mayoral race, two of the three candidates have been embroiled in front page scandal. Questions are being asked about the party’s process to long and short list the candidates. The whole selection has descended into farce.”
London Assembly Member (AM) Susan Hall and barrister Mozammel Hossain KC are also competing for the nomination.
Mr Korski is running on a platform of implementing a new tourist tax to pay for more police, including setting up a minor crimes constabulary to work closely with local communities, and building denser housing in central London.
He was seen as a leading contender and his campaign has been endorsed by levelling up secretary Michael Gove and senior Tories Robert Buckland and Nadhim Zahawi. But the allegation represents a major blow to his campaign.
Ms Goodwin went public about the incident in 2017, but did not name Mr Korski at the time. She said she was naming him now because of his candidacy to become London’s mayor.
“It is not fair on the great majority of men who treat women decently to allow a man who clearly has a problem with impulse control to reach a position of power,” she said.
Writing in The Times, Ms Goodwin urged others who may have “had similar experiences” with Mr Korski to come forward.
Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) said the party has an “established code of conduct” and “formal processes where complaints can be made in confidence”.
A CCHQ spokesperson said: “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.”