Top BBC journalist ‘offered romantic encounter by minister and his wife’ at party conference

BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg has described uncomfortable encounters with government ministers, including an arranged meeting at a hotel where she found a politician lying on a bed with his wife.

The journalist said the meeting took place during a party conference. She had expected to meet the minister and his adviser but instead found the couple together in the room. Asked whether she believed they had been expecting a threesome, Kuenssberg said she could not be certain of their intentions.

“Well, maybe they were and maybe they weren’t. As I say, maybe they weren’t and I got it completely wrong. It was very uncomfortable,” she said. Kuenssberg recounts the incident in her first book, Pay Attention. She did not identify the minister in the report. She also described a separate encounter with another married government minister whom she met for coffee to discuss work.

According to her account, the politician instead invited her to the theatre and suggested “a little grope”. Kuenssberg said other politicians had greeted her with kisses on the forehead or sent messages commenting on her clothes. She said some interactions led her to stop communicating with those involved.

Speaking to The Times, she acknowledged that people sometimes behaved inappropriately and raised concerns about the vulnerability of those beginning their careers in Westminster. “People do things. And human behaviour is a complicated thing, and sometimes people behave badly,” she said.

“There is still a concern in Westminster that particularly young people starting out are sometimes very vulnerable.” Kuenssberg, 50, served as BBC News political editor from 2015 to 2022 and was the first woman to hold the role. She began presenting Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in 2022.