US presidential hopeful Joe Biden has publicly denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a former aide in 1993.

Addressing the allegations for the first time, the for US vice president said “They aren’t true. This never happened.”

Tara Reade, a former staffer in his Mr Biden’s Senate office, has claimed he pinned her against a wall and sexually assaulted her in 1993.

She went public with the allegation in March.

File photo of then-US Vice-President Joe Biden with then-President Barack Obama, 13-12-2016. Image: Olivier Douliery/ABACA

In a statement, Mr Biden said: “While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated.”

“One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward, they should be heard, not silenced.

“The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny.

“Responsible news organizations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways.”

Allegations

He noted that Ms Reade has said she raised “some of these issues” with her supervisor and senior staff members of his office at the time.

“They — both men and a woman — have said, unequivocally, that she never came to them and complained or raised issues.

“News organizations that have talked with literally dozens of former staffers have not found one — not one — who corroborated her allegations in any way.

“Indeed, many of them spoke to the culture of an office that would not have tolerated harassment in any way — as indeed I would not have.”

Archive

He said the National Archives should have a copy of Ms Reade’s complaint if, as she claims, she made one at the time.

He has asked the archive to publish any record of it they have,

Mr Biden has faced mounting pressure to release his papers from his days as a Senator, which he has donated to the University of Delaware – a standard practice among senators.

He has insisted the complaint does not appear within the papers; however, they are not due to be published until two years after he leaves public office and the university has warned that is will not complete its curation process for them until the spring of next year.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Capitol Visitor Centre, 30-04-2020. Image: CQ-Roll Call/SIPA USA/PA Images

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that she still backed Mr Biden.

"I have complete respect for the whole #MeToo movement," the fellow Democrat said.

"There is also due process and the fact that Joe Biden is Joe Biden. He is the personification of hope and optimism and authenticity for our country - a person of great values."

Other Democrats have been forthright in saying the claims are harming Mr Biden and that he should publicly address them.

Additional reporting from IRN