Britain's business secretary has tested negative for the coronavirus after causing a health scare in parliament that reignited a debate on whether lawmakers were ending virtual sessions prematurely.

Alok Sharma tweeted that he “just had results in and my test for #COVID-19 was negative”.

The 52-year-old mopped his forehead with a handkerchief and rubbed his face several times while trying to finish a speech at the podium on Wednesday.

Several alarmed lawmakers later noted they had spent time next to him when they all stood in a long queue that twisted through the halls of parliament in order to take a socially distanced vote on Tuesday.