The Conservative MP Anna Soubry, previously an ally of Green, and like him a Remain voter, told the "Sunday Times" that attempts to smear Maltby were "wrong and shameful". Another Conservative MP said: "It appears that Green's allies barely paused for breath after he apologised for the distress caused to Kate Maltby before launching an attack. It smacks of a dirty tricks campaign and is unhelpful to the government when it is still dealing with the fallout of the Westminster harassment scandal." Maltby and her supporters had accused Green of also being behind a negative, anonymously-briefed attack on her written by the "Daily Mail" journalist Andrew Pierce. Her parents, in a statement, responded angrily to claims made by Pierce that they disapproved of her actions and condemned "the attempted campaign in certain sections of the media to denigrate and intimidate her and other witnesses".