British minister says claims of lawmaker blackmail unlikely to be true

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Minister of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department Kwasi Kwarteng is seen outside Downing Street in London, Britain, October 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

LONDON (Reuters) - British Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said on Friday that claims that lawmakers had been intimidated and blackmailed by representatives of the government seemed strange and were unlikely to be true.

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.