British minister says claims lawmakers were intimidated unlikely to be true

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.

"I have been an MP for twelve years now and I have never heard of the kind of allegations that are being made - blackmail," Kwarteng told Sky. "I find it strange."

"I find it very unlikely that these allegations are true."