A GOVERNMENT minister is refusing to remove tweets accusing a journalist of “making up claims,” despite facing heavy criticism over the public attack.

Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch came under fire last week when she condemned Huffington Post journalist Nadine White for requesting comment about why the MP hadn’t featured in a video campaign promoting vaccine take-up in black communities. 

Ms Badenoch accused the journalist in a Twitter thread on Friday of “creepy and bizarre” behaviour and published screenshots of the emails sent to her office. 

Ms White was subsequently forced to make her Twitter account private after receiving a barrage of abuse online. 

Labour MP Dawn Butler said the minister’s actions had left the journalist “subject to vile abuse.”

Huff Post editor-in-chief Jess Brammar called out the minister today for refusing to take down the tweets, adding that the government had not replied to her complaint. 

“If this government believes in the right of reporters to ask standard questions of government ministers without a reaction like this — which is a basic function of democracy — they need to act here,” she said.