An audio recording obtained by Global News reveals Patrick Brown telling fellow Conservative MPPs he instructed a staff member to draft a statement indicating he would resign as leader of the party, which contradicts claims he made earlier this week.
In an hour-long interview with Global News, Brown said his resignation letter following allegations of sexual assault was drafted and sent out without his knowledge.
WATCH: Patrick Brown says sexual assault allegations motivated by ‘political adversaries’
The short audio clip from a conference call with fellow MPPs late Jan. 24 indicates he prepared his resignation letter with his director of communications, Rebecca Thompson.
“Despite the fact that this is character assassination, these false allegations, I don’t want any of us to set back on our mission to defeat Kathleen Wynne,” Brown said. “I want nothing more than to see you all successful in replacing this corrupt government.
“When you work 20 hours a day like I do on defeating this government, I would never want to be an obstacle to you defeating this government,” he said. “I’ve asked Rebecca to prepare a statement that I will resign. And I’ve asked her to figure out at what point tomorrow that is set, and she has drafted a statement while you guys were on the call and she can read it to you if you want to hear what we’ve put together so far.”
WATCH: Patrick Brown claims that the announcement of his resignation as leader happened without his permission.
Brown has been working to clear his name following a report by CTV containing allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has called “absolute lies.”
The 39-year-old from Barrie had claimed he had not seen a draft of the resignation letter.
READ MORE: Patrick Brown says he is the victim of a ‘fabricated political assassination’
“The resignation letter was actually sent out on my behalf without my permission at the time,” he told Global News. “I thought I would have been shown the email or a draft of what was being prepared, and then I found that it was all done.”
“I never even saw the statement that was sent out,” he said. “I understood that they were drafting a copy of the resignation. I was shocked when I found out that it was sent out without even an opportunity to see it.”
The new twist in the Brown saga comes less than 24 hours after the four leadership candidates– Christine Elliott, Doug Ford, Caroline Mulroney and Tanya Granic Allen– completed their first leaders’ debate.
The Ontario Tories are scheduled to choose a new leader on March 10.