Mahdzir said he had no reason to be part of any plot as he supported Umno’s decision to form the unity government with Pakatan Harapan (PH), news portal MalaysiaGazette reported.

“So why was my name dragged into this (alleged) meeting where a group of individuals were supposedly devising ways to bring down the government?

“I deny it. Yes, it is true that I went to London, but I did not meet those who were mentioned in (the London Move),” he was quoted as saying by the portal.

His denial comes after a blogger alleged that two Umno vice-presidents were part of a group of leaders who met in London to plot Zahid’s downfall.

Though the blogger did not name anyone, some social media users were quick to point fingers at Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the former prime minister, and Mahdzir.

Ismail too had denied his involvement, saying that these were “malicious lies”, and that he was on a holiday with his family in the United Arab Emirates between Dec 22 and Jan 3 when the meeting in London was said to have taken place.

Separately, Mahdzir also said that he was confident that talks on seat allocations between Barisan Nasional and PH would proceed smoothly for the upcoming state elections in Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.