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Damian Green resigns: Theresa May's deputy quits after pornography claims Damian Green resigns: Theresa May's deputy quits after pornography claims
(35 minutes later)
​Damian Green, Theresa May’s most important ally in Government, has resigned as the  First Secretary of State after admitting he made “misleading” statements about pornography found on his Commons computer in 2008. ​Theresa May’s most important ally in Government has been asked to leave his Cabinet job after a probe found he made “misleading” statements about pornography found on his Commons computer.
He will leave his role as First Secretary of State after independent adviser on ministers' interests, Sir Alex Allan, found he had breached the ministerial code. Damian Green was forced out after an investigation exposed he had known for years that the explicit material had been discovered by police, something at odds with his public comments. 
The probe carried out by a senior Whitehall official also found claims from writer Kate Maltby that Mr Green made unwarranted advances on her were "plausible", though it was not possible to prove them one way or the other. 
In a letter the Prime Minister said how "extremely sad" she was to have to let him go, but said that the his actions set out by the investigation meant she needed to ask him to resign. He responded apologising, but insisting he had never downloaded the pornography and denied Ms Maltby's allegations.
The departure is a major blow to the Prime Minister who used Mr Green, an old university friend, as an effective deputy who had helped bring stability to her Cabinet as it threatened to implode following the June election fiasco. 
She now must decide who, if anyone, replaces Mr Green, but The Independent understands she is unlikely to take a decision until after Christmas.
Mr Green is the second senior ranking minister and ally she has lost to Westminster's sexual harassment scandal, which also saw Sir Michael Fallon resign from his defence secretary post earlier this year amid allegations of inappropriate conduct. 
The resignation also now raises questions over the future of Brexit Secretary David Davis after his allies made clear he would quit if Mr Green resigned over the pornography allegations.  
Mr Green was being investigated over claims that pornography was found on his computer in 2008 and whether he behaved inappropriately towards a Kate Maltby, a writer, in 2015 and 2016.
Director general of Propriety and Ethics at the Cabinet Office, Sue Gray, had been trying to ascertain if Mr Green’s alleged behaviour happened when he was a minister and if it had breached rules governing the conduct of members of government.
A summary of the investigation from the Cabinet Office said allegations from Conservative activist Kate Maltby were found to be “plausible” but that it was not possible to reach a definitive conclusion on the appropriateness of Mr Green’s behaviour. 
But, crucially, the Cabinet Office inquiry, found problems with statements made by the First Secretary of State regarding allegations of indecent material found on his parliamentary computer almost a decade ago. 
The report added: “The Metropolitan Police Service has previously informed him of the existence of this material. These statements therefore fall short of the honesty requirement of the Seven Principles of Public Life and constitutes breaches of the Ministerial Code. Mr Green accepts this. 
In a letter to the de facto deputy prime minister, Ms May wrote: “I am extremely sad to be writing this letter. We have been friends and colleagues throughout our whole political lives.” In a letter to the de facto deputy prime minister, Ms May wrote: “I am extremely sad to be writing this letter. We have been friends and colleagues throughout our whole political lives.” 
Mr Green described allegations that he downloaded or viewed pornography on his parliamentary computer as "unfounded and deeply hurtful", but admitted he had not been clear in his past statements on the issue.Mr Green described allegations that he downloaded or viewed pornography on his parliamentary computer as "unfounded and deeply hurtful", but admitted he had not been clear in his past statements on the issue.
A summary of the investigation from the Cabinet Office said that allegations from the Conservative activist Kate Maltby were found to be “plausible” but that it was not possible to reach a definitive conclusion on the appropriateness of Mr Green’s behaviour. 
But, crucially, the Cabinet Office inquiry, said statements made by the First Secretary of State regarding allegation of indecent material found on his parliamentary computer almost a decade ago were “inaccurate and misleading”. 
The report added: “The Metropolitan Police Service has previously informed him of the existence of this material. These statements therefore fall short of the honesty requirement of the Seven Principles of Public Life and constitutes breaches of the Ministerial Code. Mr Green accepts this. 
The resignation will also prompt questions over the future of his Cabinet colleague David Davis after allies of the Brexit Secretary made clear he would quit his post if Mr Green resigned over the allegations of pornography. 
“David would find it quite difficult to stay in his job and not resign if Damian was pushed out because of anything related to what happened 10 years ago,” a friend of Mr Davis and Mr Green told the London Evening Standard.
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