Sacked Tory MP Conor Burns denies meeting Mel B in response to Spice Girl's cryptic tweet

Singer alleges she met former trade minister in a lift at the Tory Party conference in Birmingham

Conor Burns has said he has never met singer Melanie Brown. PA

Sacked Conservative MP Conor Burns has denied he has met Mel B after the singer suggested he should not be surprised he is facing a misconduct claim, and pointed to remarks she alleges he made to her in a lift.

Spice Girl Melanie Brown tweeted the MP in response to a statement he issued on Friday, in which he said he looked forward to clearing his name after being sacked from the government and having the Conservative whip suspended.

Mr Burns said he would "fully co-operate" with an investigation by the party, understood to be looking into allegations of inappropriate behaviour at the annual conference.

He said he was not given "any information about the complaint" nor was he asked to "provide any information" when he received a call from chief whip Wendy Morton to tell him the matter would be passed to Conservative Campaign Headquarters to investigate.

But Mel B, who attended the Tory conference to speak about domestic abuse at a fringe event hosted by The Sun and Women's Aid, questioned whether he should be shocked by the claim.

Mr Burns expressed surprise at the tweet, telling the PA news agency he does not think he has ever met the singer.

"I believe I have never met Mel," he said.

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss sacked Mr Burns from his post in the Department for International Trade on Friday following the complaint, as No 10 insisted "high standards of behaviour" must be maintained.

The MP now faces a Tory investigation but has accused the party of rushing to judgment.

He was previously a minister in the Northern Ireland Office and had been an ally of former prime minister Boris Johnson.