UK PM May's deputy resigns over cover-up scandal

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s deputy resigned late Wednesday amid allegations of a breach of the U.K. ministerial code.

Damian Green’s resignation as First Secretary of State came a day before parliament’s recess for the Christmas break after it was revealed in a Cabinet Office investigation that he had misled the public regarding what he knew about pornographic material found on a computer he used in the House of Commons in 2008.

Green strongly denied the allegations, but a Cabinet Office report found that the statements he made were "inaccurate and misleading" and his conduct therefore fell short of the behavior expected of ministers.

Green has also been the subject of an inquiry over allegations by a female party activist that he made inappropriate advances, which he also denied.

May “asked the Cabinet Office to establish as far as possible the facts of the case and provide advice on whether or not there had been a breach of the ministerial code,” a brief Cabinet Office statement said.

"I apologize that my statements were misleading on this point," Green said in his resignation letter.

Green has been a Conservative Party MP for Ashford since 1997 and First Secretary of State since June 2017.