There is no proof at all."In his resignation letter, he continued in similar vein. "The complaint of sexual harassment could not be substantiated," he wrote. He also rebuffed the allegations of the other four women who came forward "There was no retaliation at all," he said. "You might call it familiar, but certainly not sexual harassment." Of the office of internal oversight services' conclusions, he added: "It is a miserable report. "I ushered the woman out of the room with my hand on her back and that is all," he said.

Mr Lubbers initially responded to the leaked report by saying that he not only had no intention of resigning but planned to ask Mr Annan to extend his term beyond its scheduled expiration at the end of this year. The issue roared to life, however, after the detailed report was obtained and published by The Independent. Mr Annan held a new round of consultations with his lawyers on Friday and issued a statement saying that he and Mr Lubbers had held a meeting to discuss the UNHCR chief's future. He told reporters that the allegation was entirely without merit. The UN's office of internal oversight services upheld the allegation and said the incident was part of a "pattern of conduct" by Mr Lubbers.

Four other women agreed to be questioned by the UN panel on condition of anonymity, saying they were afraid of "retaliation and public humiliation".The report was not made public when it was issued last summer, and Mr Annan decided at the time not to take action against Mr Lubbers because the evidence, in the view of his legal advisers, was insufficient to proceed. The former Dutch prime minister, who has held the top refugee job at the UN since 2001, informed Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, of his decision in a letter in which he said the loyalty and commitment he had brought to the job had been undermined by the behaviour of his superiors. "For more than four years, I gave all my energy to UNHCR," he said. "Now in the middle of a series of problems and with ongoing media pressure you apparently view this differently." But a statement from Mr Annan's office said the two men had discussed Mr Lubbers' "future in the organisation," in the light of published reports of sexual harassment.