A 52-year-old academic has lost a £4million claim against the London School of Economics after his young assistant allegedly repeatedly tried to seduce him.

When Theodore Piepenbrock complained about the behaviour of the woman in her 20s, she made malicious allegations and threatened to 'ruin his life', it was claimed.

The assistant allegedly wore mini-skirts that showed off her underwear 'when she insisted on crawling on her hands and knees to plug in her laptop power cord'.

London School of Economics academic Theodore Piepenbrock and his wife Sophie Marnette

Dr Piepenbrock, who is married to fellow academic Sophie Marnette, 49, a medieval French studies professor at Oxford University, was cleared of wrongdoing.

But renowned economist Mr Piepenbrock, who lives in a £500,000 home in Oxford, lost a compensation claim for errors in the handling of a complaint against him.

He has now urged 'balance' in handling the rising number of complaints following the #MeToo movement of women claiming they have suffered sexual harassment.

During his compensation claim against the LSE at the High Court, Dr Piepenbrock said that he became concerned when the assistant started flirting with him.

According to The Times, the court heard the assistant wore mini-skirts that 'sometimes revealed her undergarments when she crossed her legs or when she insisted on crawling on her hands and knees to plug in her laptop power cord'.

Dr Piepenbrock discussed her behaviour with his wife – and they decided to invite the woman to their home to show they were happily married.

The internationally renowned economist hoped this had resolved the problem and agreed that the assistant could go with him to the US on a lecture tour.

Dr Piepenbrock sued the London School of Economics, claiming it was liable for the woman's harassment of him - and breached its duty of care to him in how it handled the complaint

But on the trip she allegedly opened her hotel door to him wearing a jumper which only covered her top half – and he could see 'either her underwear or pubic hair'.

But when he confronted her about this, she allegedly shouted at him: 'I will make you regret this decision for the rest of your life. I will ruin your life and your career.'

The woman's mother initially complained to the university before the woman made a series of 'malicious' complaints about his 'sexual impropriety', the court heard.

The woman then circulated the complaints within the university – resulting in Dr Piepenbrock's colleagues no longer saying hello to him, the court was told.

However, an internal investigation found the case against him was 'not proven' and the university apologised to him for 'deficiencies' in the investigation.

But Dr Piepenbrock sued the LSE, claiming it was liable for her harassment of him - and breached its duty of care to him in how it handled the complaint.

But Mrs Justice Nicola Davies ruled that the woman did not harass Dr Piepenbrock because she had not acted in a 'malicious, oppressive or unacceptable' manner.

Dr Piepenbrock, who is preparing to appeal, said after the ruling: 'In the #MeToo era, when sexual harassment/abuse against women is finally beginning to be rightfully addressed, how do we balance the needs to protect both women and men?'