Why has Michael Fallon resigned, what are the Andrea Leadsom accusations and when did he touch Julia Hartley-Brewer’s knee?

MICHAEL Fallon was first elected to the House of Commons as a 29-year-old and rose through the ranks to become a cabinet minister.

But he resigned as Defence Secretary after admitting that he touched female journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer's knee — as details emerged of sexual harassment complaints against dozens of politicians.

Who is Michael Fallon?

Fallon was born in Perth, Scotland, and his father Dr Martin Fallon OBE was a noted surgeon.

He has been married for 21 years and has two sons. The family lives in Sunbridge, Kent.

As a child he was educated privately at Craigflower Preparatory School near Dunfermline and Epsom College in Surrey.

Fallon then attended the University of St Andrews in Scotland - where he was an active in student politics and campaigned for the Keep Britain in Europe campaign in the 1975 referendum.

He was elected as the Conservative MP for Darlington in 1982, at the age of 29.

The young politician rose through the ranks of the Conservative party and was appointed by Margaret Thatcher as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Education and Science in July 1990.

He lost his seat in the 1992 general election to Labour's Alan Milburn before regaining a seat in 1997 as MP for Sevenoaks in Kent.

What jobs has Michael Fallon had?

Since the Conservative Party returned to government in 2010, Fallon has held a number of senior positions and was promoted to the Cabinet in 2014 as Secretary of State for Defence.

Earlier this year, he said Prime Minister Theresa May would launch a nuclear strike in the scenario of a pre-emptive attack in 'extreme circumstances'.

He said: "In the most extreme circumstances, we have made it very clear that you can’t rule out the use of nuclear weapons as a first strike."

When did he resign as Defence Secretary?

On November 1, Fallon resigned from his position as Defence Secretary.

He admitted his behaviour in the past had "fallen short" after he was accused of misconduct.

He wrote in a letter to Theresa May: "A number of allegations have surfaced about MPs in recent days, including some about my previous conduct.

"Many of these have been false but I accept that in the past I have fallen below the high standards that we require of the Armed Forces that I have the honour to represent.

"I am reflecting on my position and I am therefore resigning as Defence Secretary."

In response to Sir Michael, the Prime Minister praised his time in office, singling out his leadership of the bombing campaign against ISIS.

She added: "I appreciate the characteristically serious manner in which you have considered your position, and the particular example you wish to set servicemen and women and others."

He did not explain which allegations led to his resignation - with the only public claim at the time being the allegation regarding journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer.

Following Farron's resignation, she tweeted: "I doubt my knee was the reason."

What are the allegations about Julia Hartley-Brewer?

Fallon admitted touching journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer's knee at the Conservative party conference in 2002.

The admission came after a spreadsheet detailing allegations against 36 top Tories was leaked.

Married father-of-two Mr Fallon admitted to The Sun he had touched Ms Harltey-Brewer — but insisted he apologised over the incident 15 years ago and that both considered the matter closed.

A pal said: “Julia’s a good friend of Michael’s. He overstepped the mark when he put his hand on her knee. She made clear it was unwelcome and he rightly apologised 15 years ago.”

Earlier Julia had told how a Cabinet Minister had “repeatedly put his hand on my knee during a party conference dinner”.

She added: “I calmly and politely explained to him that, if he did it again, I would punch him in the face. He withdrew his hand and that was the end of the matter.”

Julia said she did not feel like she was a victim of a sexual assault, and found the incident nothing more than “mildly amusing”.

What are the Andrea Leadsom accusations?

The Sun exclusively revealed that Fallon was forced to quit after being accused of making lewd sexual comment by a Cabinet colleague.

He is said to have told Andrea Leadsom, who complained of cold hands: “I know where you can put them to warm them up”.

The former Defence Secretary was reported to No10 by the Commons Leader, who accused him of a string of offensive remarks.

Delivering a damning dossier to Downing Street two days ago, Ms Leadsom insisted he must go.

A source close to Sir Michael said: “He categorically denies saying something as appalling as he knows where she could warm her hands.”

Has Michael Fallon been involved in any other controversies?

In 1983, Fallon was banned from driving for 18 months after admitting drink-driving.

He also attracted criticism from some quarters for an attack on then Labour leader Ed Miliband in the 2015 general election campaign.

Fallon said: “Ed Miliband stabbed his own brother in the back to become Labour leader. Now he is willing to stab the United Kingdom in the back to become prime minister.”

He was slammed by some Conservative commentators who claimed the attack was 'too personal'.