Damian Green maintains he did nothing 'inappropriate' as he makes public return in the wake of sexual harassment allegations

Damian Green has said he does not believe he did anything "inappropriate" during his interactions with the writer Kate Maltby, in his first public return since resigning as first secretary. 

Two months after he was forced out of the Cabinet, Mr Green denied he had committed any wrongdoing when he reportedly texted Ms Maltby saying he felt "compelled" to ask her for a drink after seeing her pictured in a corset in a newspaper.

Mr Green said that he wanted to apologise to Ms Maltby if "she felt uncomfortable" but stressed: "I didn't believe I did anything in appropriate, I still don't".

"If she felt I did, and if she felt uncomfortable than obviously I am sorry about that," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 

"But I should emphasise again, as I have done throughout, I didn’t believe I did anything appropriate. I still don’t. But if she felt uncomfortable then I’m sorry about that."

Mr Green made the comments in his first high-profile interview since the controversy emerged. 

In December, he was sacked from the Cabinet over separate allegations made by former police officers, who claimed that thousands of pornographic images had been found on his computer. 

The claims dated back to 2008, when his office was raided by Metropolitan Police officers. Mr Green denied he had ever been informed about the material being found. 

However,  he was later found to have misled the public by an inquiry headed by Sue Gray, a Cabinet Office official, who concluded that Mr Green had in fact been informed about the material. 

Asked about his resignation on Tuesday, Mr Green said: "I sent out a press release which was inaccurate, that’s what I apologised for. It was a breach of the ministerial code.

"That’s why I had to leave the Government. I accept that and I am now moving onto other projects.

"It was one press release that went out that went slightly too far in a very difficult time."

The inquiry also looked into claims made by Ms Maltby,  who said the Tory MP "fleetingly" touched her knee during a meeting in a pub in 2015, and a year later sent her the "suggestive" text message after she was pictured in the corset.

Confronted over the corset text, he said: "That was a joke, I had political discussions with her over a number of years which continued afterwards, at no stage was there any inappropriate behaviour."

He rebutted the suggestion he may be a "victim", adding that he wasn't going to "whinge" over his dismissal. 

"All ministers hold their positions at the pleasure of the Prime Minister, and I did break the ministerial code."

Mr Green also insisted that he and the Prime Minister remained friends, amid speculation that the controversy has led to a rift between the pair, who are long-term friends.