‘Off with you’! British PM, Theresa May sacks deputy Damian Green, found to have lied he said there was no porn on his Parliamentary computer
British Prime Minister, Theresa May, sacks best mate First Secretary of State, Damian Green, after his caught in a lie concerning his past extra-curricular activities
Recently released report finds he lied when he said there was no porn on his Parliamentary computer, nine years ago
Damian Green tonight resigned as Theresa May’s deputy PM after a sleaze probe
Ex Police officer Bob Quick said he found porn on Mr Green’s computer in 2008, finally got his man
MP who has been friends with the prime minister since their college days denies viewing material but accepts denials porn was found is misleading
Green was Mrs May’s oldest friend in politics and closest Westminster ally is the third Cabinet member to quit in 6 weeks after Michael Fallon and Priti Patel
The episode sparked a huge inquest at the Commons into whether parliamentary privilege should have protected the material held by an MP.
And just a year later Mr Quick quit as a policeman after being photographed heading into the {rime Minister’s residence at No 10 Downing Street, with a security briefing about an undercover operation.
But after a decade of bad blood between the two men, that contentiuos office raid has finally ended Green’s Cabinet career.
Guilty or not guilty of abusing govt property? Green, seen with his wife Alicia [right], claims ‘the allegations’ against him have been deeply hurtful to him and his family
Separate allegations Mr Green behaved inappropriately towards Tory activist Kate Maltby turned out unfounded, but his actions over the porn claims were considered a breach of the ministerial code.
It makes him the third cabinet minister to quit from Mrs May’s top team in just six weeks after ex defence chief Sir Michael Fallon and former international development secretary Priti Patel quit amid scandals.
Mr Quick claimed he found vast amounts of porn on Mr Green’s office computer during the police raid and took his allegation to the Government’s standards chiefs in early November at the height of the Westminster sleaze scandal.
- Former Police Asst. Comm. Bob Quick claimed he found vast quantities of porn on Damian Greene’s office computers when he raided his parliamentary office in 2008
Green scrambled to deny the claims – insisting in a statement on November 4 that the ‘police have never suggested to me that improper material was found on my parliamentary computer’.
But while he continues to deny claims he viewed inappropriate material on his office computer, he has now admits police did talk to his lawyers about the allegations back in 2008 and again in 2013.
Damian Green and Bob Quick crossed swords in 2008 when the Met assistant commissioner took dramatic action in an inquiry into leaks from the force.
Mr Quick decided to arrest then then shadow immigration minister.
The Tory MP was held for nine hours while his Commons office, two homes and constituency office, were searched and computers removed by counter-terrorism officers.
The episode sparked a huge inquest at the Commons into whether parliamentary privilege should have protected the material held by an MP.
In the ensuing political storm, it emerged Mr Quick’s wife was running a car hire firm from their home and details of their address were published on a website.
The officer then accused the Tories of being ‘wholly corrupt’ in leaking the story to intimidate him and his investigation.
And it is this statement that has been his undoing and forced him to quit from Mrs May’s Cabinet.
In a statement, Mr Green said: ‘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 statement that police lawyers talked to my lawyers in 2008 about the pornography on the computers, and that the police raised it with me in 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 to both me and my family and it is right that these are being investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s professional standards department.’
The departure of Mr Green, regarded as Mrs May’s closest ally in politics, will be a hammer blow to the PM as she was struggling to get her government back on track.
She had fought for weeks to try and find a way to save him, but eventually decided he must go.|
Mr Green’s letter pointedly stayed that he had been ‘asked’ to resign – indicating his desire had been to tough out the storm.
The 61-year-old wrote a resignation letter to Mrs May today and said that he and ‘should have been clear’ when giving statements about the incident.
He wrote: ‘I accept that I should have been clear in my press statement 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.’
Mrs May accepted his resignation and wrote: ‘I’m extremely sad to be writing this letter, we have been friends and colleagues throughout our whole political lives.
Damian Green tonight was forced to quit as Theresa May’s deputy after he was found to have lied over claims porn was found n his computer nine years ago
Mr Green is the third cabinet minister to be forced to quit in just six weeks after their careers have been hit by scandal. Sir Michael Fallon and Priti Patel resigned as defence secretary and international development secretary respectively
Former First Secretary of State Green leaves London home amid porn allegations
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