British Conservative MP says he will go to police with government blackmail claims
- William Wragg, who accuses the government of blackmailing opponents of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said he will take his allegations to the police
- Wragg said legislators calling for a challenge to Johnson’s leadership have faced ‘intimidation’ that amounted to ‘blackmail’
A British politician who accuses the government of blackmailing opponents of Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he will take his allegations to the police.
William Wragg, an MP from the governing Conservative party, said legislators calling for a challenge to Johnson’s leadership have faced “intimidation” that amounted to “blackmail”.
Wragg alleged that rebellious MPs were threatened with a loss of public funding for their constituencies and had embarrassing stories about them leaked to the press.
Johnson has said he has “seen no evidence” to support those claims. The prime minister is facing a political crisis over allegations that he and staff held lockdown-flouting parties while Britain was under coronavirus restrictions.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Saturday that Wragg said he would meet police early next week to discuss his claims of bullying and intimidation.
“I stand by what I have said. No amount of gaslighting will change that,” the newspaper quoted Wragg as saying.
London’s Metropolitan Police force said that “should a criminal offence be reported … it would be considered”.