The Daily Telegraph newspaper in the United Kingdom is reporting Scotland Yard, London’s police force, is investigating an allegation of sexual assault made against the former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell.
The newspaper reports there has been a complaint filed against Campbell that he inappropriately touched a member of staff in 2013 while working as the Canadian High Commissioner to Britain.
The incident is alleged to have taken place in a stairwell at Canada House in London, according to the Telegraph.
The report states that the complaint has been passed to the British Foreign Office, which is facilitating discussions between the force and Canadian authorities.
On Saturday, a spokesperson for Gordon Campbell released a statement strongly rejecting the allegation.
“This complaint was transparently disclosed and became the subject of a full due diligence investigation at the time by the Government of Canada and was found to be without merit.”
The Telegraph reports the alleged victim is Judith Prins. Prins allegedly made a formal complaint in January 2014 and worked at the Canadian High Commission in London.
Global News has spoken with Prins who did not want to comment at this time.
WATCH: (Aired: June, 2013) Gordon Campbell greets Prime Minister in UK
The Metropolitan Police confirmed to Global News that it is investigating an allegation of sexual assault involving a 54-year-old woman that was reported to have taken place at an address in Grosvenor Square, but are not identifying whom exactly it is investigating.
It said the allegation was reported on Jan. 3, 2019.
In a statement, Global Affairs said it couldn’t comment on specific allegations for privacy reasons.
“The Government of Canada takes any allegations of sexual assault and harassment extremely seriously,” said the statement. “This kind of alleged misconduct in the workplace is absolutely unacceptable.”
In the wake of the allegations, public relations firm Edelman Canada said it isn’t able to comment for Campbell during the investigation.
“Since July 2018, Mr. Campbell served as a Special Advisor to Edelman, and was engaged on a part-time basis as a consultant through a retainer agreement. However, in light of the recent allegations, Edelman and Mr. Campbell have mutually decided to suspend their consulting arrangement until the police investigation in the UK is complete,” said the company.
“We are not at liberty to say more until we know more and until then we will focus our attention on continuing to best serve our valued clients.”
Campbell served as B.C. premier from 2001 until 2011.
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