Sir Michael Fallon 'accused of lunging at female journalist amid harassment scandal'
SIR Michael Fallon was forced to resign after a journalist came forward and accused him of "lunging" at her, it has been claimed.
Sir Michael's resignation on Wednesday allegedly followed a phone call from former Daily Mail reporter Jane Merrick, who told Downing Street he had lunged at her and attempted to kiss her on the lips in 2003.
Writing in the Observer, Ms Merrick said: “At 5pm on Wednesday afternoon, I contacted Downing Street to report the 2003 incident to one of the Prime Minister’s aides.”
She added: “By 7.30pm, Fallon had resigned, admitting his behaviour towards women in the past had ‘fallen short’ of the high standards of the Armed Forces.”
Ms Merrick’s account suggests the former Defence Secretary was not forced out because of his alleged comments to Andrea Leadsom or claims he had touched the knee of journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer.
Ms Merrick, who was 29-years-old at the time of the alleged incident, added: “I shrank away in horror and ran off to my office in the Press Gallery.
“I felt humiliated, ashamed.
"Was I even guilty that maybe I had led him on in some way by drinking with him?
“After years of having a drink with so many other MPs who have not acted inappropriately towards me, I now know I was not.”
A friend of Sir Michael confirmed the incident to the Observer.
They said: “Michael realises this kind of incident was unacceptable which is why he had to resign.”
Ms Merrick decided to contact Number 10 following more recent allegations against the former Defence Secretary.
Previously political editor of The Independent on Sunday, Merrick has written about the incident before – however chose not to name him.
She wrote: “Once again, some were dismissing the remarks as trivial, the sort of banter that goes on in workplaces across the country.
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“By continuing to stay silent now, I was still running away from Fallon, just as I ran away from him in 2003.
“I decided it was time to come forward and name him.
"I want him to know that, however long ago this incident was, his behaviour was unacceptable.”
She went on to write Sir Michael “has denied some allegations and minimised others as somehow acceptable because they date from another time.
"His lack of contrition has made me change my mind.”
“The impression was being left that this was a one-off incident that could now be laughed off.
"I knew that by failing to act I was letting down not only my 29-year-old self but also any other women who may have been subjected to the same behaviour since.
“More importantly, I would be failing to protect other women in future.”
The revelation is the latest in a series of allegations of sexual misconduct by MPs.