Northern Ireland's new Secretary of State has strongly denied claims that he once asked an official if he "needed a passport to go to Derry".
The claims about Shailesh Vara have "no basis in truth whatsoever" and "simply did not happen", a Northern Ireland Office spokeswoman told Belfast Live.
Mr Vara was appointed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday after Brandon Lewis resigned alongside scores of Conservative ministers in a cabinet revolt.
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The North West Cambridgeshire MP was previously an NIO minister in Theresa May's government but quit in 2018 in opposition to the then Prime Minister's proposed Brexit agreement.
The Times reported that Mr Vara's appointment as Secretary of State was "greeted with bewilderment" in Northern Ireland, "where he previously spent five months as a junior minister and was notorious for asking an official 'whether he needed a passport to go to Derry'".
But the NIO dismissed the claims as "misinformation".
A spokeswoman said: "The Secretary of State is clear that these comments have no basis in truth whatsoever. The event reported simply did not happen.
"Moreover, not only was the previous tenure of the Secretary of State's work in the Northern Ireland Office reported inaccurately (he was a junior minister here for 10 months, not five), but an official would also never refer to Derry/Londonderry as 'Derry'.
"The Secretary of State pointed out that misinformation of this sort only detracts from the serious and important issues concerning Northern Ireland that he wishes to concentrate on."
Mr Vara on Friday made his first visit to Northern Ireland since his appointment as Secretary of State, during which he met young people in Belfast supported by the Prince's Trust.
Last week Mr Lewis joined scores of Conservative ministers who left the Cabinet in a revolt against Mr Johnson, who later announced his own resignation - though he intends to stay in post until his successor is found.
A Tory leadership contest is set to begin with 11 candidates having so far entered the race to succeed Mr Johnson as party leader and Prime Minister.
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