Tory running to be next London mayor accused of groping TV producer

Daniel Korski made the Tory shortlist of hopefuls for next year’s London mayoral race (Picture: Getty)

A Tory contender in the running to be the next Mayor of London has been accused of groping a woman a decade ago.

Daniel Korski, a former No 10 special adviser who made the Conservative Party’s shortlist of hopefuls for next year’s mayoral race, denied groping TV producer Daisy Goodwin ‘in the strongest possible terms’.

Ms Goodwin has previously spoken about the alleged incident during a meeting in Downing Street, but used an article in the Times to name Mr Korski.

She wrote: ‘When we both stood up at the end of the meeting and went to the door, the spad [special adviser] stepped towards me and suddenly put his hand on my breast.

‘Astonished, I said loudly, “Are you really touching my breast?” The spad sprang away from me and I left.

‘Although I suppose legally his action could be called sexual assault, I have to say that I did not feel frightened.

‘I was older, taller and very possibly wiser than the spad, and having worked for the BBC in the Eighties I knew how to deal with gropers.

Daisy Goodwin is a successful TV producer and writer (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Daniel Korski was a special adviser in David Cameron’s Government (Picture: Steve Back)

‘What I felt was surprise and some humiliation. I was a successful award-winning TV producer with 40 or so people working for me; this was not behaviour that I would have tolerated in my office.

‘By the time I got back to work I had framed it as an anecdote about the spad who groped me in No 10. His behaviour was so bizarre that I couldn’t help seeing the humour in it. It was as if I had walked into Carry On Downing Street.’

A spokesperson for Mr Korski said: ‘In the strongest possible terms, Dan categorically denies any allegation of inappropriate behaviour whatsoever.’

Ms Goodwin said she wanted to name Mr Korski as he could become the Tory mayoral candidate.

She added: ‘Naively I assumed that if everyone already knew then his egregious behaviour would not be tolerated any more.

‘But now the spad who groped me, aka Daniel Korski, is running to be the Tory candidate for mayor of London. This I think is a reason to name him.’

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Daniel Korski denied the allegation ‘in strongest possible terms’ following an article by Daisy Goodwin.