EX-Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns has been cleared of “brazenly lying” about a collapsed rape trial.
The Tory MP quit the Cabinet on the first day of the election campaign after being accused of “brazenly lying” about when he found out his ex-aide had “sabotaged” a rape trial.
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He insisted he did not know Ross England made claims about a victim’s sexual history causing the trial to be ditched in 2018.
A Cabinet Office probe cleared him of breaching the ministerial code, with Sir Alex Allan finding it “unlikely” he was told of Mr England’s role.
The report by Sir Alex Allan, the PM’s independent adviser, found there was no proof that he had lied.
Sir Alex wrote: “I find it unlikely that Mr Cairns would not have been told something about Mr England’s role when he was told about the collapse.
“But all those involved state that they had not informed Mr Cairns of Mr England’s role, and there is no direct evidence to contradict this.
“On that basis, I do not find that the evidence upholds the allegations of a breach of the Ministerial Code.”
Mr Cairns was replaced as Welsh Secretary by Simon Hart after the Tory election landslide.
