First Secretary of State Damian Green has strongly denied claims by a former police chief that pornographic material was found on one of his Commons computers.
The Sunday Times reports that ex-Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Bob Quick alleged the “extreme” material was discovered by officers during an inquiry into government leaks in 2008.
Green, who is effectively Prime Minister Theresa May’s deputy, said: “This story is completely untrue and comes from a tainted and untrustworthy source.”
Green denied the accusations on Twitter but managed to screenshot the entire email from the special advisor who drafted the statement.
It was then deleted and a cropped version sent in its place.
The allegations came as Labour’s Harriet Harman hit back at claims that a witch hunt against politicians was under way, reports the Press Association.
The former deputy party leader told the BBC: “There are a lot of men saying this has been totally blown out of all proportion, this a witch hunt. No, it’s not a witch hunt, it’s long overdue.”
Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is hitting out at Westminster’s “warped and degrading” culture of sexual harassment.
Corbyn is using a speech at his party’s North West conference in Blackpool on Sunday to warn that abuse of power is “hiding in plain sight”.
He will say: “Labour is committed not just to challenging a warped and degrading culture in Westminster, and across society, but to overturning it.
“Faced with the ongoing revelations about sexual harassment, we must make this a turning point and a moment of real change.
“We must say ‘no more’. We must no longer allow women, or anyone else for that matter, to be abused in the workplace or anywhere else.
“This is not about peering into some dark recesses. This kind of abuse, sexism and misogyny, has been hiding in plain sight. It is all around us.
“It is, sadly, in our schools and universities, it is in our businesses and workplaces, in our newspapers and on our TV screens, and yes, it is in the corridors of power.
“It is not enough to say ‘this is wrong’, then only tinker with procedures. How we respond to this moment will shape the way we live our lives. We need to make a fundamental shift in the balance of power and transform the way our society works.”
The remarks follow criticism of Corbyn for appointing now suspended Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins to the shadow cabinet after allegations against him had surfaced.
Hopkins “categorically” denied claims of inappropriate conduct made by party activist Ava Etemadzadeh.
Labour is investigating Etemadzadeh’s allegations that the MP sent her suggestive texts and acted inappropriately.
Addressing delegates in Blackpool, Corbyn will say Labour is “turning the spotlight on itself”.
He will also say a leading barrister has been appointed to investigate “if and how the party got it so painfully wrong” in the case of Bex Bailey, an activist who claims she was raped at a Labour event and was discouraged from reporting the alleged attack after an official said it would damage her career.