Fallon’s former adviser Richard Holden denies party assault (original) (raw)

A former special adviser to Sir Michael Fallon is being investigated by the police over an allegation of sexual assault.

Richard Holden was interviewed by the police under caution in February, according to a report on Buzzfeed. He is accused of assaulting a woman in her twenties at a party in London last December.

Mr Holden had a long career in the Conservative Party’s headquarters (CCHQ) before becoming an adviser to Sir Michael, who resigned as defence secretary over allegations of inappropriate behaviour last week. Mr Holden was the party’s candidate for Preston in the 2015 general election. He strongly denied the allegation. “I totally refute the allegation of a section three assault that has been made against me,” he said. “It is completely and utterly untrue. I look forward to clearing my name in court.”

Section three of the Sexual Offences Act concerns sexual assault.

Mr Holden joined CCHQ in 2007 when he graduated from the London School of Economics. After the 2015 election he became a special adviser to Baroness Stowell of Beeston, then the leader of the Lords, before moving to work for Sir Michael the next year. In September he became an associate director of Newington Communications, but his contract was terminated yesterday when the company became aware of the allegation for the first time.

In further allegations, a journalist claimed that a Conservative minister offered to give her a flat in central London if she agreed to be his mistress. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, 67, a columnist for the i newspaper, did not name the minister who made the advance more than 20 years ago but told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “This has gone on a long time.”