William Wragg, who is a member of Boris Johnson’s party and the chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee had accused No 10 of trying to “blackmail” Members of Parliament (MPs) seeking to oust the UK Prime Minister. He will now set to meet police to discuss his allegations.
Wragg informed on Thursday that some Conservatives had faced intimidation and blackmail from government representatives because of their desire to topple Johnson in the wake of the “Partygate” scandal that has rocked the UK government.
In reply, Johnson told broadcasters on Thursday that he had neither seen nor heard any evidence to support Wragg’s claims.
As per reports, Wragg will be meeting a Scotland Yard detective in the House of Commons early next week. The move is deemed crucial as it has raised the prospect of a police investigation.
“I stand by what I have said. No amount of gaslighting will change that. The offer of Number 10 to investigate is kind but I shall leave it to the experts. I am meeting the police early next week,” he told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
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In the latest development, The Guardian has reported that about a dozen Tory MPs have made allegations similar to Wragg’s in the last few days to a colleague.
Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for the Rhondda said that he took the allegations very seriously. “I have even heard MPs alleging that the prime minister himself has been doing this,” Bryant told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
“What I have said to all of those people is that that is misconduct in public office. The people who should be dealing with such allegations are the police.”
“It is illegal. We are meant to operate as MPs without fear or favour. The allocation of taxpayer funding to constituencies should be according to need, not according to the need to keep the prime minister in his job,” he added.
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Saturday it could not comment on any specific planned meetings. “As with any such allegations, should a criminal offence be reported to the Met, it would be considered,” a spokesman said.
(With inputs from agencies)
