FIRED OVER PORN
Damian Green breaks cover after being sacked as deputy PM over porn lies as he thanks friends for support
DAMIAN GREEN today broke cover thanking allies for their support after Theresa May dramatically sacked him for lying over porn found on his office computer.
The First Secretary of State - a friend of 40 years – was fired by the PM after an exhaustive, seven week-long probe.
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The Cabinet Office investigation ruled he twice gave “inaccurate and misleading” public statements over whether smutty material had been found on his Commons computer during a botched police raid in 2008.
That was deemed a clear breach of the ministerial code, which is an immediate sacking offence.
In his first comments since his sacking, Mr Green wrote on Twitter today: "I am overwhelmed by the number of friends, colleagues (on all sides) and constituents who have sent supportive messages this morning.
"My thanks to you all, and a Happy Christmas. See you in 2018."
Gutted Mrs May said last night she was “extremely sad” to have asked 61-year-old old friend from university days together to resign.
But in a powerful twist in the long-running saga, the PM also hit out last night at former cops who had gone public with what they found on Mr Green’s computer nine years ago when he was an opposition MP.
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Mr Green’s departure is yet another hammer blow for Mrs May, as the third minister to lose his job over the Westminster sleaze scandal in the last two months.
His departure follows shamed Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and whip Chris Pincher.
Last month also saw International Development Secretary Priti Patel resign over secret meetings with senior Israelis.
It is also a personal tragedy for the Tory leader, who is also close pals for four decades with Mrs Green’s wife Alicia.
The PM appointed exact Oxford contemporary Mr Green as her de facto deputy in June three days after her disastrous election result to stabilise her rocking minority government, and he was her most trusted ally in government.
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Mr Green’s long debated fate was sealed on Monday, when Cabinet Office enforcer Sue Gray found he misled the media on two separate occasions.
He insisted he had no knowledge about the filthy material on his office laptop, when in fact, his lawyer had been informed of the discovery in 2008 and he personally had been phoned by cops about as long as four years ago in 2013.
Ms Gray’s report was then handed by the PM to her independent advisor on ministerial standards Alex Allan.
Sir Alex informed her at lunchtime yesterday just after she finished PMQs that he agreed with the conclusions.
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Former detective says he was 'shocked' by amount of porn on Damian Green's computer
After sitting through a two hour public grilling from the Commons Liaison Committee poker-faced, Mrs May returned to No10 and summoned Mr Green at 6.30pm.
He immediately accepted his fate on learning of the report’s conclusions, aides said.
The Cabinet Office inquiry did not come to any conclusion on the initial allegations made against Mr Green by Tory activist Kate Maltby.
The 31-year-old Tory and writer accused him of repeatedly harassing her for a sexual relationship.
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Mr Green insisted his friendship with Ms Maltby was just platonic, and Ms Gray found no evidence to arbitrate between the two camps.
In his resignation letter, Mr Green apologised to the PM and told her: “I accept that I should have been clear in my press statements that police lawyers talked to my lawyers in 2008 about the pornography on the computers, and that the police raised it with me in a subsequent phone call in 2013.
“I apologise that my statements were misleading on this point. The unfounded and deeply hurtful allegations that were being levelled at me were distressing both to me and my family and it is right that these are being investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s professional standards department.”
Responding, Mrs May heaped praise on Mr Green’s service, saying he had brought “great wisdom, good sense, and a commitment to helping the most vulnerable to my Cabinets”.
PM’s deputy Damian Green denies inappropriate actions towards Tory activist
Turning her fire on the rogue police officers, Mrs May added: “I share the concerns, raised once again from across the political spectrum, at the comments made by a former officer involved in that case in recent weeks.
“I am glad that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has condemned that, made clear that police officers’ duty of confidentiality endures after they leave the force, and that the Metropolitan Police’s professional standards department are reviewing the comments which have been made.”
Downing Street sources have revealed Mr Green will not be immediately replaced by the PM.
There will be no reshuffle until the New Year at the earliest.
Aides were pushing the PM to delay her team’s shake up until May after she looked to have ended the year on a high.
Damian Green's resignation letter in full
DEAR PRIME MINISTER,
I regret that I've been asked to resign from the government following breaches of the Ministerial Code, for which I apologise.
It has been a privilege to serve in your government both as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and as First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office.
It was also a great pleasure to work with you in the Home Office both as Minister for Immigration and as Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims. Your years as Home Secretary were a model of reforming institutions in the interests of the wider public.
I share and support your vision of a country that works for everyone, using Conservative policies to help those who have for too long been disadvantaged.
In particular I am pleased to have published the Race Disparity Audit and to have started the government on a road to a reformed social care system.
From the outset I have been clear that I did not download or view pornography on my Parliamentary computers.
I accept that I should have been clear in my press statements that police lawyers talked to my lawyers in 2008 about the pornography on the computers, and that the police raised it with me in a subsequent phone call in 2013.
I apologise that my statements were misleading on this point.
The unfounded and deeply hurtful allegations that were being levelled at me were distressing both to me and my family and it is right that these are being investigated by the Metropolitan Police's professional standards department.
I am grateful that the Cabinet Secretary has concluded that my conduct as a minister has generally been both professional and proper. I deeply regret the distress caused to Kate Maltby following her article about me and the reaction to it.
I do not recognise the events she described in her article, but I clearly made her feel uncomfortable and for this I apologise.
Finally I would like to give heartfelt thanks to my Parliamentary colleagues and my Ashford constituents for the huge support they have shown me in recent weeks.
I will continue to argue for the modernising conservatism I have always believed in.
Yours,
DAMIAN
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But she will now at least have to appoint a new minister into the Cabinet Office to take on Mr Green’s constitutional tasks.
Those - devolution and Brexit liaison with the regions - will be taken on by the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Secretaries, as well as the Chief Whip.
Cabinet ministers were stunned by Mr Green’s firing, with one telling The Sun: “It’s shocking. I’d really thought he’d stay”.
Many Tory MPs had supported Mr Green in his battle with the ex-cops, and were furious.
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Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg told The Sun: “I’m deeply concerned that as far as I can tell the reason for his resignation is some questionable behaviour by retired policemen based on a deeply questionable search of his office when he was an opposition spokesman in 2008.
“I think this raises more questions about how the police behaved then and how the retired policemen behaved since than it does about Damian Green and therefore I’m very sorry that he felt that he ought to resign and I think it is a loss for the Government to be without his wisdom.”
The porn investigation began on November 5 after disgraced former Met counter terror boss Bob Quick claimed it had been found on his Commons computer during a raid aimed at stemming embarrassing leaks from the Home Office to the then Tory opposition.
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When the allegations first surfaced Mr Green moved quickly to dismiss them as unfounded in an aggresive public statement slamming the police.
On 4 November Mr Green says the suggestion that porn was found on his computer were “completely untrue.”
By the November 11 he had changed the story to claim that “no allegations about the presence of improper material on my parliamentary computers have ever been put to me or to the parliamentary authorities by the police.”
But the investigation revealed that Mr Green HAD been told — a fact he has told the PM he now accepted.
The inquiry, lead by Whitehall sleaze buster Sue Gray, found “ the Metropolitan Police Service had previously informed him of the existence of this material.”
On November 18 Mr Green changed his story again to say he never viewed pornography on the computers removed from his office.
On the 1 December, Mr Green’s spokesman insisted he had never changed his story, saying: “From the outset he has been very clear that he never watched or downloaded pornography on the computers seized from his office.”
In his departure letter Mr Green also said he deeply regretted the distress caused to the Tory activist Kate Maltby, who claimed he had made unwanted sexual advances towards her in a bar and over text messages.
But the outgoing deputy insisted: “I do not recognise the events she described in her article, but I clearly made her feel uncomfortable and for this I apologise.”
Damian Green appointed First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Ms Maltby would not comment last night until she had received more details from the Cabinet Office.
But her parents released a statement on her behalf.
Saying they are “proud” of her, Colin and Victoria Maltby said: “We are not surprised to find that the inquiry found Mr Green to have been untruthful as a minister, nor that they found our daughter to be a plausible witness.
“We have received many supportive messages from people near and far who appreciate Kate’s courage and the importance of speaking out about the abuse of authority.
“We join with them in admiring her fortitude and serenity throughout the length of the investigation and despite the attempted campaign in certain sections of the media to denigrate and intimidate her and other witnesses."
Theresa May's response to Damian Green in full
DEAR DAMIAN,
I am extremely sad to be writing this letter.
We have been friends and colleagues throughout our whole political lives - from our early days at university, entering the House of Commons at the same election, and serving alongside each other both in Opposition and in Government.
As Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and as First Secretary of State, you have brought great wisdom, good sense, and a commitment to helping the most vulnerable to my Cabinets in this Parliament and the last.
I have greatly appreciated your hard work and the contribution you have made to my team, just as I did at the Home Office, where you served as Immigration Minister and Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, helping to drive through important but often difficult reforms.
Like you, I know the vast majority of our police to be diligent and honourable public servants, working hard to protect the public and maintain law and order.
But I shared the concerns raised from across the political spectrum when your Parliamentary office was raided in 2008 when you were a Shadow Home Office Minister holding the then Labour Government to account.
And I share the concerns, raised once again from across the political spectrum, at the comments made by a former officer involved in that case in recent weeks.
I am glad that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has condemned that, made clear that police officers' duty of confidentiality endures after they leave the force, and that the Metropolitan Police's professional standards department are reviewing the comments which have been made.
When allegations were raised about your personal conduct, I asked the Cabinet Secretary to establish as far as possible the facts of the case and provide advice on whether or not there had been a breach of the Ministerial Code.
He has produced a thorough report which concludes that your conduct as a minister has generally been both professional and proper.
You have expressed your regret for the distress caused to Ms Maltby following her article about you and the reaction to it.
I appreciate that you do not recognise the events Ms Maltby described in the article, but you do recognise that you made her feel uncomfortable and it is right that you have apologised.
I know that you share my determination to ensure that everyone who wants to play their part in our political life should feel able to do so - without fear or harassment, and knowing they can speak out if they need to.
Equally, it is right that those who put themselves forward to serve the public should also be accorded the respect of a private life within the law.
I have also carefully considered the report's conclusions in relation to two statements you made on 4 and 11 November which you now accept were inaccurate and misleading.
This falls short of the Seven Principles of Public Life and is a breach of the Ministerial Code - a conclusion which has been endorsed by Sir Alex Allan, the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests.
While I can understand the considerable distress caused to you by some of the allegations which have been made in recent weeks, I know that you share my commitment to maintaining the high standards which the public demands of Ministers of the Crown.
It is therefore with deep regret, and enduring gratitude for the contribution you have made over many years, that I asked you to resign from the Government and have accepted your resignation.
Yours ever
THERESA
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