British Prime Minister Theresa May’s de facto deputy, Damian Green, resigned Wednesday after he was found to have breached the UK’s ministerial code of conduct.
An investigation by the UK Cabinet Office found that Green’s denials that pornographic material was found on his office computer were “inaccurate and misleading.”
Police found thousands of thumbnail pornographic images on the computer during a raid in 2008 aimed at finding the source of government leaks, a former Scotland Yard detective involved in the case said. None of it was deemed to be illegal.
The Prime Minister’s office told CNN Green had been asked by May to resign following the investigation into his conduct.
May added that Green’s behavior fell short of the Seven Principles of Public Life and is “a breach of the ministerial code.” Green officially held the titles of Minister for the Cabinet Office and First Secretary of State.
“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,” May said.
In his response to May, Green said he did not download or view pornography on his parliamentary computers, calling the allegations “unfounded and deeply hurtful,” but went on to admit that he hadn’t been clear when he addressed the situation.
“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”, he said.
“I apologize that my statements were misleading on this point.”
Additional allegations have been made against Green by journalist Kate Maltby, who claims he made unwanted advances towards her during a meeting in 2015.
The report said it was “not possible to reach a definitive conclusion on the appropriateness of Mr Green’s behavior with Kate Maltby in early 2015, though the investigation found Ms Maltby’s account to be plausible.”
Green said at the time the allegations were “completely untrue” and “deeply hurtful” in a statement.
In November, May said there needed to be a “new culture of respect” following a wave of sexual harassment scandals at the UK government offices at Westminster, London.
The Prime Minister’s Defense Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, resigned in November over allegations of sexual misconduct.