UK govt minister quits over 'threats' to member of public

A British government minister resigned on Monday after an inquiry ruled that he misused his position to intimidate someone who was in a business dispute with his father.

Conor Burns quit as a junior trade minister after the House of Commons standards committee found he had made "veiled threats" that unless his father was paid he would raise the issue in Parliament.

The committee said that was an "abuse of his privileged status in an attempt to intimidate a member of the public" and said Burns should be suspended from Parliament for a week.

Burns, a longtime ally of Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said that "with deep regret I have decided to resign" as a minister for international trade.