UK lawmaker says Johnson critics face government ‘blackmail’

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A lawmaker from Britain’s governing Conservatives has accused the government of blackmailing opponents of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Tory member of Parliament William Wragg said Thursday that legislators calling for a challenge to Johnson’s leadership have faced “intimidation.” That allegedly included threats of a loss of funding for their constituencies. Wragg said some of the reports amounted to blackmail. He urged lawmakers to contact the police. Johnson said he’d seen no evidence to support the allegations, which are a sign of a deepening rift in the party over the PM’s leadership. Wragg is among a group of Tory lawmakers openly calling for Johnson to face a no-confidence vote over allegations of lockdown-breaching government parties.