Fresh allegations swirl of sex at Westminster

Theresa May’s key ally Damian Green is at the top of Westminster’s ‘spreadsheet of shame’ and repeats claims he was on the Ashley Madison dating website, which he has denied

Theresa May’s key ally Damian Green is on Westminster’s ‘spreadsheet of shame’ which alleges he used the Ashley Madison dating website, MailOnline can reveal.

The Cabinet Office minister has vehemently denied he was a member of the dating site for married people who wanted to cheat on their spouses.

The allegation first emerged in 2015 when his work email address appeared on a hacked list of members.

He said at the time: ‘It’s nothing to do with me. I have never registered for an account with Ashley Madison’.

MailOnline understands at least nine of the names listed on the so-called sex pest list merely had consensual relationships with staff or fellow MPs.

This includes Justin Tomlinson, 40, who settled down with then 25-year-old aide Katherine Bennett in 2016 when he was already divorced.

An unnamed MP on the dossier, told MailOnline: ‘It is hurtful to be included and attached to something that is completely untrue.’ 

But the Westminster ‘spreadsheet of shame’ also reveals up to 25 new and damaging allegations about some of Britain’s highest profile politicians.

There is a Tory MP with the nickname ‘Copperfeel’ and several others also said to have a reputation for groping women and men.

One is alleged to have forced an aide to have an abortion and another had ‘paid women to be quiet’.

A politician is said to have been filmed being urinated on by three men, another MP enjoys sex with prostitutes paid to carry out ‘odd acts’ and a third seeks out men wearing women’s perfume, the list says.

Three female aides were asked to go on holiday with one MP while another politician ‘paid a woman to be quiet’, while a former Tory minister was said to have propositioned his secretary by asking her to ‘come and feel the length of my c***’. 

Prime Minister Theresa May said today she ‘has confidence in her Government and her ministers’, her official spokesman said amid allegations of sexual impropriety at Westminster.

A dossier (pictured redacted by MailOnline) naming 36 Tory MPs is circulating within Westminster

A dossier (pictured redacted by MailOnline) naming 36 Tory MPs is circulating within Westminster

Michael Fallon, pictured today leaving cabinet, has apologised for repeatedly touching journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer's knee

Michael Fallon, pictured today leaving cabinet, has apologised for repeatedly touching journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer’s knee

The document, said to be compiled by Tory aides disgruntled about their treatment, names six Cabinet ministers and other senior allies of the Prime Minister. 

St Austell MP Steve Double is on there for having an affair with his office liaison with Sarah Bunt, 26, but was taken back by his forgiving wife Anne in 2016.

Also named is former Cabinet minister Stephen Crabb, who has admitted sending explicit text messages to a 19-year-old he had interviewed for a job. 

And Mark Garnier also makes the list for allegedly asking his assistant to buy two vibrators and called her ‘sugar t*ts’. 

Today, separately, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon apologised for repeatedly touching a radio host’s knee until she threatened to ‘punch him in the face’.

He made the gesture to Julia Hartley-Brewer during aConservative party conference in 2002, the journalist has revealed.

A close friend of Sir Michael, a married father of two, said: ‘Julia’s a good friend of Michael’s. He overstepped the mark. She made it clear it was unwelcome and he rightly apologised 15 years ago.’ 

Yesterday Miss Hartley-Brewer, 49, said she was contacted by journalists about the incident in the wake of wider claims of sexual misconduct, but said she regarded it as ‘mildly amusing’.

Comparing her experience of a ‘misjudged sexual overture’ to serious harassment or assault was ‘absurd and wrong’, she argued.

In a statement on Twitter she wrote: ‘Wild rumours and claims are circulating about many male MPs at Westminster in a media feeding frenzy.

‘I have worked in and around Westminster for 20 years and, as far as I am aware, incidents of genuine harassment involve only a small number of MPs from all parties.

‘I believe it is absurd and wrong to treat workplace banter and flirting – and even misjudged sexual overtures – between consenting adults as being morally equivalent to serious sexual harassment or assault. It demeans genuine victims of real offences. Anyone with any allegations … should speak up now and provide the evidence to ensure any necessary action is taken.

She added: ‘I have not been a victim and I do not wish to take part in what I believe has now become a Westminster witch hunt.’

Julia Hartley-Brewer

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon (right) has been revealed as the MP who made the gesture to journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer (left) during a Tory party conference in 2002

Hartley-Brewer responded last night by saying 'no one was remotely upset or distressed' by the incident in 2002

Hartley-Brewer responded last night by saying ‘no one was remotely upset or distressed’ by the incident in 2002

Miss Hartley-Brewer said the minister ‘repeatedly put his hand on my knee during a party conference dinner … I calmly and politely explained to him that, if he did it again, I would “punch him in the face”. He withdrew his hand … I have had no issues since with the man and do not regard the incident as anything but mildly amusing, which is why I have declined to name him.’

MP Justin Tomlinson, 40, is on the list after he settled down with then 25-year-old aide Katherine Bennett in 2016 when he was already divorced 

MP Justin Tomlinson, 40, is on the list after he settled down with then 25-year-old aide Katherine Bennett in 2016 when he was already divorced 

In the Sunday Express in 2009 she described how he had propositioned her. She wrote: ‘He was, he told me, a firm believer in the long-standing Westminster rule of … “party conferences don’t count”. I was, I told him, a firm believer in not going to bed with other women’s husbands.’

Last night, after Sir Michael had been named, Miss Hartley-Brewer tweeted: ‘Sigh. This “incident” happened in 2002. No one was remotely upset or distressed by it.’

It came as Theresa May was warned she risked sparking a Westminster ‘witch hunt’ after ministers were told they could be sacked for making staff ‘feel uncomfortable’. The Prime Minister ordered a crackdown on Parliamentary sex pests after the latest Westminster sleaze scandal threatened to spiral out of control. 

A spokesman for the Defence Secretary said he had apologised when the incident happened 15 years ago – and that both he and Miss Hartley-Brewer considered the matter closed.

The incident is believed to have happened at a Tory Party conference. Miss Hartley-Brewer said last night she did not see herself as a ‘victim’. 

International Trade Minister Mark Garnier (pictured at a trans pride event) is accused of calling his secretary 'sugar t*ts' in front of witnesses

International Trade Minister Mark Garnier (pictured at a trans pride event) is accused of calling his secretary ‘sugar t*ts’ in front of witnesses

Caroline Edmondson (pictured in 2013 with her partner, journalist Jon Craig) is said to have been asked to buy sex toys for boss Mark Garnier

Caroline Edmondson (pictured in 2013 with her partner, journalist Jon Craig) is said to have been asked to buy sex toys for boss Mark Garnier

Former Cabinet Minister Stephen Crabb admitted sending ‘explicit’ messages to a 19-year-old woman after a job interview at Westminster

Former Cabinet Minister Stephen Crabb admitted sending ‘explicit’ messages to a 19-year-old woman after a job interview at Westminster

St Austell MP Steve Double is also on there for having an affair with his office liaison with Sarah Bunt, 26, but was taken back by his forgiving wife Anne in 2016 (all pictured together)

St Austell MP Steve Double is also on there for having an affair with his office liaison with Sarah Bunt, 26, but was taken back by his forgiving wife Anne in 2016 (all pictured together)

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said yesterday Tory MPs faced being suspended from the party if unwanted sexual comments or advances were found to have made junior staff ‘feel uncomfortable’.

‘Maybe everybody was sloshed!’ Tory MP warns of a ‘growing witch hunt mentality’

Tory MP Michael Fabricant, pictured on Newsnight last night, warned the Westminster sex pest scandal risks turning into a witch hunt 

Tory MP Michael Fabricant, pictured on Newsnight last night, warned the Westminster sex pest scandal risks turning into a witch hunt 

There is a ‘growing witch hunt mentality’ surrounding the Westminster sex pest scandal which risks dragging innocent names through the mud, a Tory MP last night warned.

Michael Fabricant said inappropriate behaviour must be stamped out but it is not fair to point the finger based on rumour or things done when ‘everyone was sloshed’.

His comments come as a list of the sexual improprieties of 36 MP – including current Cabinet ministers – has been circulated among Westminster insiders.

The dossier lists Tories who are said to be ‘handsy with women’, used prostitutes or made inappropriate sexual advances.

But as rumours of misconduct swirl around Westminster, there are growing fears politicians could fall victim to unsubstantiated and anonymous allegations. 

Mr Fabricant, a former whip and MP for Litchfeild, told BBC’s Newsnight: ‘It’s not fair actually to base things on rumour – there has to be evidence.

‘And there mustn’t be witch hunts either, I feel there is a growing witch hunt mentality currently going on.

‘We have got to ensure that inappropriate behaviour is stamped out, it is wrong it is unprofessional.

‘But at the same time we don’t want to see individuals who have been blameless being accused of things which maybe they hadn’t really done, or maybe at the time everyone was sloshed. I don’t know.

‘You sometimes get that and we have got or be very careful we don’t get into that sort of situation.’

Mrs Leadsom, speaking with Mrs May at her side, said ministers caught up in the scandal could be ‘fired from ministerial office’ – and the threshold for action would be behaviour ‘significantly below criminal activity’. New proposals, including an independent ‘grievance procedure’ and training for MPs on how to treat their staff, would be brought forward ‘within days’.

But the proposals sparked unease. One female Tory MP called for ‘perspective’, while a female Tory peer warned of creating an atmosphere that might ‘encourage’ false allegations. 

As the scandal threatened to engulf Westminster:

  • The Daily Telegraph reported that two female members of a minister’s staff moved to other jobs because of his ‘inappropriate’ behaviour. A spokesman for the minister, who has not been named, said he did not ‘recognise’ the allegations.
  • Downing Street refused to say if Mrs May retained confidence in trade minister Mark Garnier, after claims he asked a female aide to buy sex toys;
  • One Tory MP warned colleagues on a WhatsApp messaging group that the scandal could ‘bring down the Government’;
  • Labour faced questions about its own conduct after frontbencher Cat Smith said she had to ‘run away’ from a sexual predator in the party;
  • A Commons researcher revealed an MP had asked him to clean his kitchen in his underwear following a boozy night in a Commons bar;

Mrs May was urged to investigate a secret dossier naming 36 Tory MPs as sex pests.

Yesterday’s crackdown followed a string of allegations that senior MPs, including members of the Cabinet, have sexually harassed junior colleagues over many years.

Tory MP Nadine Dorries said it was right to draw up a proper legal basis for dealing with complaints.

But she added: ‘We need to keep a perspective on this. Mediocre men behaving badly hold good women back in many workplaces across the UK, not just in Westminster. We need action in terms of separating the historic and legal behaviour between consenting adults, from that which has serious grounds for complaint. My guess is, that may boil down to very little.

‘Otherwise, it turns into a witch hunt which benefits no one.’

And Baroness Jenkin warned against creating an atmosphere that encouraged false allegations.

Senior parliamentary figures have met to discuss ways for victims of sexual assault to speak up ‘without fear’. The move came after Mrs May called for a new independent helpline to deal with complaints.

Commons Speaker John Bercow also called for change in Parliament amid what he described as ‘disturbing’ allegations.

Mrs May has been stung by claims she ignored evidence of sexual harassment because the information was useful to Tory whips.

ALLEGATIONS MADE AGAINST 36 TORIES IN DOSSIER 

The dossier apparently prepared by Tory aides contains sexual misconduct allegations against 36 male and female politicians, who have not been named.

A veteran Tory backbencher is accused of being ‘perpetually intoxicated and very inappropriate with women’.

A Conservative MP is accused of agreeing a ‘non-disclosure’ settlement with another politician’s researcher 

A prominent female MP is accused of having extramarital sex with young male researchers.

Two MPs are accused of getting their mistresses pregnant. One allegedly paid for an abortion.

Two Tory MPs are accused of using prostitutes.

A video is rumoured to be circulating of one Conservative backbencher engaged in an ‘extreme sex act’ with three men.

 

  

 

 

 

 

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