Hugh Grant has hit back at Sajid Javid after the chancellor called him "incredibly rude" for not shaking his hand at a film premiere.
The Hollywood star took to Twitter to post his own version of events after it was reported in the media that he snubbed Mr Javid for not backing his calls for tighter regulation of the press.
The chancellor told ES Magazine how Mr Grant had "refused" to shake his hand and said he was "completely shocked" at the star's behaviour.
"[Hugh Grant] said, 'When you were culture secretary you didn't support my friends in Hacked Off,'" Mr Javid said. "I think that is incredibly rude."
He added: "I wonder if people like Hugh Grant think they are part of the elite and they look down on working class people no matter what station they reach in life."
The awkward encounter occurred at the glitzy London premiere of Martin Scorsese's new film, The Irishman.
In response, a spokesperson for Mr Grant told PA news agency that the film star had actually told Mr Javid "if you don't mind, I won't shake your hand because you were rude and dismissive to the victims of press abuse when you met them as culture secretary" when he offered his hand.
The 59-year-old actor, a victim of the phone-hacking scandal, has been one of the leading voices in the campaign for stricter press regulation and is a regular spokesperson for the group Hacked Off.
His spokesperson added: "Hugh would like to point out that the victims in question were not celebrities. They were people with personal family tragedies who had been abused by sections of the press."
Mr Grant was apparently referring to a meeting between Mr Javid and the victims of press abuse who had reported that the then culture secretary's attitude had been "borderline contemptuous".
