A minister has paused her support for Conservative London mayoral candidate Daniel Korski after an allegation of groping was made against him.
TV producer Daisy Goodwin claimed that the alleged incident occurred in 2013, in No.10 Downing Street, when Korski was working as a special adviser to then-PM David Cameron.
His team told The Guardian: “In the strongest possible terms, Dan categorically denies any allegation of inappropriate behaviour whatsoever.”
Children, families and wellbeing minister Claire Coutinho told Sky News on Wednesday that she believed the allegation was “very serious”, and that “the behaviour described has no place in society, it has no place in the workplace”.
She explained: “The right thing is to make sure we’ve got a good candidate for the mayor of London, that’s what the people of London deserve.”
Asked by host Kay Burley if she was “pausing” her support for Korski, Coutinho said: “I would say I’m on pause right now because a lot of things are happening.”
She added that “we need to see what’s happened” and said that “if there is a complaint in the system, it needs to be followed up swiftly so we can find the facts and see what’s happened”.
Goodwin submitted a formal complaint to the Cabinet Office late on Tuesday, as she revealed on her Instagram.
On Monday, she claimed in a piece in The Times that the 2013 incident happened when she was in Downing Street to discuss the possibility of producing a documentary on the trade department.
She alleged Korski “suddenly put his hand on my breast”.
Goodwin claimed: “Astonished, I said loudly, ‘Are you really touching my breast?’ The spad [special adviser] sprang away from me and I left.”
While the producer said she felt “dignified silence” was best, she publicly mentioned the alleged incident in 2017, but did not say Korski’s name.
She claimed in The Times she has made the to now name him as he is running to replace Labour’s Sadiq Khan as London mayor.
Korski told TalkTV on Tuesday that the allegations against him were reported to the Conservative Party before he announced he was standing as one of the Tory candidates to be London mayor.
He said he will “absolutely” continue with his campaign.
In a statement, Korski said: “I know that simply denying such allegations may not be enough to alleviate the concerns and doubts that might arise in your minds.
“I firmly believe in the importance of empathy, respect and the wellbeing of every individual within society.”