The former chancellor and ex-health secretary Matt Hancock were by both drawn in by the ruse and were caught on camera offering to work for the firm for thousands of pounds per day.
Mr Kwarteng told the fake company that he would be able to put them in touch with other MPs, and suggested he could arrange a potential meeting with the former prime minister Boris Johnson.
He said: "Let's talk. I'm sure we could try and arrange that. I'm not promising anything, but he's someone I know. He's a great guy."
Mr Kwarteng added that Mr Johnson - who is currently embroiled in the Partygate scandal - is the "best campaigner you will ever see".
The former chancellor went on to suggest he could "work with" the firm's offer of paying him between £8,000 and £12,000 for each of the six annual meetings of its non-existent international advisory board.
Mr Kwarteng added that the Tory whips would allow him to attend board meetings for a foreign company. Asked about attending board meetings, he said: "I could do that. I'm very flexible."
He said: "We have whips... but I can work with them to make sure that - as long as the meetings aren't like a whole week, I'm sure I can make that work."
Asked if he could also attend one-off meetings, he said: "I should be. I think you seem extremely professional and I would be very interested to see what you had to offer in this regard.
This story is from the March 27, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the March 27, 2023 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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