Victoria TV show creator names former Cameron aide running for mayor of London in assault claim

A leading TV writer and producer said last night she was groped in Downing Street by a former aide to David Cameron, who is now running for mayor of London.

Daisy Goodwin, creator of the hit ITV drama Victoria, said Tory candidate Daniel Korski touched her breast during a visit to Number 10 a decade ago.

She has spoken about the alleged attack before, but it is the first time she has mentioned the name of Mr Korski – who strongly denies the allegation.

He is one of three Tories vying to become the party’s candidate in the May 2024 London mayoral election to replace Labor incumbent Sadiq Khan.

Mr Korski reportedly left a Tory Hustings event mid-debate last night after being warned by an aide about the publication of Ms Goodwin’s claims.

In an article for today’s Daily Mail, Mrs Goodwin, 61, described how she arrived in Downing Street for talks with Mr Korski about an idea for a TV show.

They had met at a social event two weeks earlier, and he believed a show could be written about the trade department’s efforts to partner with small and medium-sized businesses in exporting their goods around the world.

Mrs Goodwin wrote: ‘Korski, who was quite a few years younger than me, showed me a room dominated by a portrait of Mrs Thatcher, and to my surprise he said that my sunglasses made me look like a Bond girl and put his feet on my chair when we sat down at the table.

“I tried to turn the conversation into turning export into must-have TV. At the end of the meeting, we both stood up and, to my surprise, Korski put his hand on my chest. I looked at the hand and then said in my most offended voice, “Are you really touching my chest?”

He dropped his hand and laughed nervously. I’ve been wiped out in what can only be called high dudgeon.”

Ms Goodwin did not make a formal complaint at the time. She said she learned to laugh off “unwelcome advances from male colleagues” while working for the media as a young woman in the 1980s.

She added, “It was much easier to dodge the hand on the leg or ass and pretend it didn’t happen than to make a fuss.

“I didn’t want to be the girl who couldn’t take a joke.

“I hasten to add that nothing really terrible happened to me prior to Korski’s bizarre attack, but in the TV industry of the 1980s and 1990s there was a lot of behavior that today would be called “inappropriate.” ‘

Ms Goodwin has previously spoken about the alleged attack, but it is the first time she has mentioned the name of Mr Korski – who strongly denies the allegation.

She first revealed the alleged incident in an article for the Radio Times in 2017 – in the wake of the #MeToo movement – although she did not identify Mr Korski.

She explained her decision to name him now after learning he was running for mayor of the capital, writing, “Part of Korski’s campaign is to make London a safer place for women. This strikes me as the ultimate irony.

“While I’m not suggesting he’s in the same league as the man who raped and killed Sarah Everard, it makes me sick to think that the man who clearly got a kick out of groping me under a portrait of Mrs Thatcher, should be someone who can be trusted to make decisions about how to protect the opposite sex.

“I’m not saying every politician has to be a saint, but I wouldn’t put an arsonist in charge of the fire department.

“What worries me – and another reason why I’m writing this – is that I suspect that other people in positions of power and influence know that Korski is capable of this kind of behavior and have decided to support him anyway.”

Ms Goodwin added: ‘Ultimately I think we can’t be afraid to do the right thing. We shouldn’t be warning younger women to be careful about not being alone with so-and-so men, or spreading secret WhatsApp spreadsheets.

“Women and men of all ages should be treated with respect in the workplace, and those who don’t understand what that means shouldn’t be running for office.”

In 2017, Mr Korski denied that he himself was at the center of the allegations after rumors about his identity circulated.

He said at the time, “I’m shocked that this story has anything to do with me. I have met Mrs. Goodwin in No. 10 twice, I think, and she may have met others.

“But I strongly deny any allegation of inappropriate conduct. Such a claim would not only be totally false, but totally bizarre.”

Jamie Klingler, co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, a women’s safety charity, said last night: ‘It is critical that allegations against those in power are taken seriously and addressed as they are almost always part of a pattern of abuse of power – a pattern that abusers depend on them to protect them and prevent victims from stopping the behavior.”

Mr Korski’s spokesperson said yesterday: ‘In the strongest possible terms, Dan categorically denies any allegation of improper conduct.’

The two other Tory candidates in the race are Mozammel Hossain KC and Susan Hall.

Mrs Goodwin started her career at the BBC making art documentaries before joining production company Talkback, where she made Grand Designs.

She then started Silver River Productions in 2005 before selling it to Sony in 2012 to focus on writing.