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GROPE CLAIMS

I was groped by London mayor hopeful Daniel Korski while he worked at Downing Street, TV writer Daisy Goodwin claims

TV writer Daisy Goodwin has claimed she was groped by London mayor hopeful Daniel Korski while he worked at Downing Street.

The creator of ITV hit drama Victoria, said Mr Korski, 46, touched her breast back in 2013.

Tory candidate running to be the next London mayor has been accused of groping a TV writer
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Tory candidate running to be the next London mayor has been accused of groping a TV writerCredit: Getty Images - Getty
The creator of ITV hit drama Victoria, Daisy Goodwin, said he touched her breast in 2013
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The creator of ITV hit drama Victoria, Daisy Goodwin, said he touched her breast in 2013Credit: Getty

During a visit to No10, Ms Goodwin, 61, was allegedly assaulted in the famous Margaret Thatcher study - something Mr Korski last night denied.

Writing in the , Ms Goodwin said: "When we both stood up at the end of the meeting and went to the door, the spad 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.

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"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.

"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."

Mr Korski, who was PM David Cameron's special adviser at the time, said he "categorically denied" groping Ms Goodwin a decade ago.

A spokesperson for the Tory candidate running for Mayor of London said: "In the strongest possible terms, Dan categorically denies any allegation of inappropriate behaviour whatsoever."

Ms Goodwin previously spoke out about her alleged suffering - but didn't name Mr Korski until yesterday.

She explained she had now decided to name him after learning he was running to be the capital's mayor.

Ms Goodwin added: "Part of Korski's campaign is that he wants to make London safer for women. This strikes me as the ultimate irony.

"While I am not suggesting he is in the same league as the man who raped and murdered Sarah Everard, it makes me queasy to think that the man who clearly got a thrill out of groping me under a portrait of Mrs Thatcher, should be someone who can be relied on to make judgement calls about how to protect the opposite sex.

"I am not saying that every politician has to be a saint, but I wouldn't put an arsonist in charge of the Fire Brigade.

"What concerns me — and is another reason I am writing this — is that I suspect other people in positions of power and influence know Korski is capable of this kind of behaviour and yet have still decided to back him."

It's reported Mr Korski was forced to leave a Tory hustings mid-debate after the claims broke on Monday night.

Ms Goodwin began her career at the BBC making arts documentaries.

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Shen then joined production company Talkback and helped make hit show Grand Designs.

In 2012, Ms Goodwin began focusing on writing, producing TV series Victoria, and many best-selling novels.

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