UK Conservative lawmaker accuses government of intimidation, blackmail

FILE PHOTO: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends the weekly Prime Minister's Questions at the parliament in London, Britain, January 12, 2022. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS

LONDON (Reuters) - A senior Conservative lawmaker accused the British government on Thursday of intimidating and attempting to "blackmail" those lawmakers they suspect of wanting to force Prime Minister Boris Johnson out of power.

William Wragg, chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee which oversees constitutional issues and standards, has called for Johnson to resign after a series of scandals, including the prime minister's attendance at a COVID-19 lockdown-breaking party at Downing Street.

Johnson, who won a large majority in 2019, has so far resisted calls to resign, saying he would fight on and take the governing party into the next election, which is not due until 2024.

At the start of a committee meeting, Wragg made a statement, accusing the government of using intimidation, including threats of withdrawing investment from those lawmakers who had called, or could call, for a confidence vote in Johnson.

"In recent days, a number of members of parliament have faced pressures and intimidation from members of the government because of their declared or assumed desire for a vote of confidence in the party leadership of the prime minister," Wragg told a meeting of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

"Moreover, the reports of which I'm aware, would seem to constitute blackmail. As such, it would be my general advice to colleagues to report these matters to the speaker of the House of Commons and the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police."

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Kate Holton)