Damian Green says he has been ‘overwhelmed’ by support since being sacked over porn claims
2 min read
Damian Green says he has been ‘overwhelmed’ with supportive messages from friends, colleagues and constituents since he was sacked from Cabinet for lying over a porn scandal.
Mr Green was sacked last night over his "inaccurate and misleading" claim that police had not told him porn had been found on the computer during a raid in 2008.
Speaking out for the first time since he stood down, he tweeted that he was grateful for the support he had received.
Tory colleagues rallied round the former First Secretary of State this morning, hitting out at the police officers who revealed that they had found porn on his computer during an investigation into Home Office leaks nine years ago.
Conservative backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg told The Sun: “I’m deeply concerned that as far as I can tell the reason for his resignation is some questionable behaviour by retired policemen based on a deeply questionable search of his office when he was an opposition spokesman in 2008.
“I think this raises more questions about how the police behaved then, and how the retired policemen behaved since, than it does about Damian Green.
"Therefore I’m very sorry that he felt that he ought to resign and I think it is a loss for the Government to be without his wisdom.”
Former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell added: “These two admitted breaches of the ministerial code are dwarfed by the extraordinary behaviour of the police which fortunately is now under investigation.”
However, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt admitted that Mr Green been forced out of his post for lying.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that the former Cabinet minister will get almost £17,000 as a pay-out for standing down.
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