Laura Kuenssberg 'was invited to a threesome by Government minister who lay sprawled on hotel bed with shirt buttons undone and his partner there waiting'

The BBC 's former political editor Laura Kuenssberg has told of her uncomfortable encounters with politicians, including one incident in which she met a government minister in his hotel room, only to find him sprawled on a bed with his partner. Ms Kuenssberg, 50, has narrated the encounter in her first book, Pay Attention, in which she describes how the minister appeared to be inviting her to join a threesome. The incident happened at a party conference, when the journalist went to an arranged meeting with the minister in his room, where she expected to find him and his adviser.

Instead, she says, she was confronted by a bawdy scene involving the minister, with too many shirt buttons undone, and his partner. As the minister sprawled himself across the hotel bed, Ms Kuenssberg knew it was time to leave and promptly did so. When asked by an interviewer if the couple were after a threesome, she said: '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.'

It's far from the only inappropriate sexual encounter she has come across during her work. Ms Kuenssberg describes another government minister with whom she would have coffee to discuss the politics of the day, and who was married at the time, inviting her to the theatre and having 'a little grope'. Laura Kuenssberg, 50, was the BBC's political editor and now fronts Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg In her new book Pay Attention, Ms Kuenssberg narrates a range of uncomfortable encounters in her career, as well as examining how politics has become so polarised Needless to say, the journalist cut off all contact with him.

Another former minister, she says, greeted her every time he saw her with a kiss on the head, something she calls 'weird'. And a peer, whose gender she did not share, once sent her a 'really creepy text' complimenting her clothes on TV. Again, she stopped replying. Speaking to The Times , Ms Kuenssberg described how politicians can 'behave badly' and raised concerns for young journalists and employees starting out in the industry. '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.' The journalist also described the abuse she has received during her career, particularly as the main face of the BBC's political coverage before, during and after the Brexit vote. After receiving an online message reading 'Why don’t you f*** off and die of ovarian cancer you b****,' she stopped looking at her social media.

At times, concern from BBC bosses was so great they hired bodyguards to accompany her, and on one occasion, she described having to literally flee a Jeremy Corbyn campaign event after being confronted by a group of 'irate' men. But the majority of the book focuses on politics itself: from her experiences interviewing prime ministers including Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer, to how politics has become so fragmented, argumentative and polarised.

She also devotes two chapters to Nigel Farage, and told today how he is 'incredibly gifted' – but who, having once made a series of allegations against Jingye, the Chinese company behind British Steel, and when asked for proof dismissed the request on the basis of 'intuition', is in a 'different category' of politicians. What is notably absent from Ms Kuenssberg's book, and always has been, is any snapshot into her life outside of the political world she inhabits.

She was born in Italy but brought up in Glasgow by parents Nick and Sally, and has been married to a management consultant called James Kelly since 2017. But in typical BBC fashion, nothing more about the journalist's private life, her own political views, or what she gets up to outside of the office, is a matter of public record – and given the safety concerns of being in such a high-profile job, it is understandable. Ms Kuenssberg has since handed over the mantle of political editor to Chris Mason, and now fronts BBC One's Sunday interview slot with her show, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

Having been at the BBC for more than two decades, she shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. Also on the horizon could be a solo hosting of the next General Election, it is understood – whenever that may come around.