Neil Sherlock, a former special advisor to ex-Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, has denied a charge of sexual assault. Sherlock appeared at Hove Crown Court and entered a plea of not guilty to sexually assaulting a woman at the Liberal Democrat party conference in Brighton on September 18, 2007.
The alleged incident was reported to police in September 2023. Sherlock, 62, worked for Clegg, who was Deputy Prime Minister at the time, from January 2012 to March 2013. He previously worked as a partner at KPMG from 1985 to 2011. He was awarded a CBE in 2015 for public and political service.
Sherlock was remanded on conditional bail. He is ordered not to contact or attempt to contact the complainant, who was 30 at the time of the alleged assault. A trial date has been set for November 29 of next year and is expected to last four to five days.
At the time of the alleged assault, Sherlock was a partner at the professional services firm KPMG. Following his tenure with Clegg, he co-founded Acuti Associates in 2023, a firm that advises CEOs. He also serves as a special advisor to the UK chief executive of KPMG and sits on several charity boards, including The Britain Project, a political group focused on the center ground.
Sherlock's career also includes roles at PwC, where he focused on communications and reputation strategy. He studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Oxford, graduating with a first-class degree in 1984. That same year, he was elected president of the Oxford Union, surpassing former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the election.
Sussex Police confirmed that a report of a non-recent sexual assault was received in September 2023. Following an investigation, Sherlock was charged on May 15, 2026, with one count of sexual assault on a female.