Damian Green accused of ‘dirty tricks’ over leaked Kate Maltby texts
3 min read
Damian Green has been accused of launching a ‘dirty tricks’ campaign against the woman who accused him of sexual misconduct after a text exchange between the pair was leaked.
The former First Secretary of State and ally of the Prime Minister was forced to resign last week after a probe found he lied about porn being found on his Commons computer during a raid in 2008.
However the investigation into Mr Green’s conduct initially looked at claims he had acted inappropriately towards journalist and Tory activist Kate Maltby.
She claimed that he had “fleetingly” touched her knee in 2015 and sent her inappropriate text messages the following year.
The Sunday Times today reports MPs accusing Mr Green of mounting a "dirty tricks" campaign against Ms Maltby however - with claims that edited text messages between the pair were leaked to the media in a bid to smear her.
One version of the texts, seen by the paper, is said to have been “selectively edited” to suggest she pushed the former minister to meet her without any encouragement from him.
The paper however say the full message exchange in fact shows that he had suggested that they “fix a date soon”.
Former Tory minister Anna Soubry said “any attempt to smear or trash” Ms Maltby was “wrong and shameful”, while another Conservative MP said: “It smacks of a dirty tricks campaign and is unhelpful to the government when it is still dealing with the fallout of the Westminster harassment scandal.”
Meanwhile Ms Maltby said “only Damian Green or his allies” could have leaked the texts and said she was “amazed that he is still continuing to behave in this way”.
However, a source close to Mr Green told The Sunday Times that he “totally denies having anything” to do with the alleged leak and suggested they “could have easily been relayed via other people”.
DAVIS 'BEGGED' PM
The claims come amid reports that David Davis ‘begged’ Theresa May not to axe her de facto deputy after he was found to have breached the ministerial code of conduct.
Mr Davis was reported earlier this month to have insisted he too would quit the cabinet if Mr Green was removed from post, however sources in recent days have said he will not stand down.
The Sun reports however that Mr Davis told friends following his colleague’s sacking: “I did everything I could to save him.”
The Brexit Secretary is reported to have set up a “war room” in a bid to convince Mrs May not to sack her close confidant following the public claims by the two police officers at the centre of the porn row.
A close ally told the paper: “[Mr Davis] was furious about the way a respected minister and close friend had been so obviously victimised by officers waging a clear vendetta.
"He set up a war room in his office to ensure none of the smears went unchallenged.
“David also went in to see the PM several times to lobby her on Damian’s behalf."
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