TV producer Daisy Goodwin has submitted a formal complaint against Daniel Korski after accusing the Conservative mayoral hopeful of groping her 10 years ago.

Mr Korski has strenuously denied the claim against him and has pledged to stay in the race to become the Conservative candidate for London mayor.

The allegation was first made in an article for The Times on Tuesday, in which Ms Goodwin wrote that Mr Korski had groped her breast at a meeting in Number 10, when he was working for the then prime minister, David Cameron.

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She has now submitted a formal complaint to the Cabinet Office over the alleged incident in 2013.

It comes after a government minister became the latest Tory MP to “pause” support for Mr Korski’s bid to take on Sadiq Khan in 2024.

Earlier on Wednesday, Claire Coutinho told Sky News her support is “on pause at the moment because lots of things are happening”.

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“But at the same time, this is an allegation. He’s roundly denied it,” she added.

“If there is a complaint in the system, it needs to be followed up swiftly so we can find the facts and see what’s happened, but I do think it’s a very serious and concerning allegation.”

Sky News has been told that education minister Robert Halfon has also paused his backing of Mr Korski.

Mr Korski used an interview with TalkTV on Tuesday to say that he had met with Ms Goodwin, but he denied that anything improper had occurred.

He said the allegations against him had been reported to the Conservative Party before he stood as the Tory candidate for race to be London mayor in 2024 and he will “absolutely” continue his campaign to win the nomination of his party.

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Mr Korski’s statement said: “I know that simply denying such allegations may not be enough to alleviate the concerns and doubts that might arise in your minds.

“I firmly believe in the importance of empathy, respect, and the wellbeing of every individual within society.”

Ms Goodwin appeared to submit a formal complaint late on Tuesday, posting a screengrab to Instagram of an email receipt from the Cabinet Office with the subject line: “Formal complaint about Daniel Korski Urgent”.

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