Speaking at culture questions in the Commons, Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said he had seen "absolutely no evidence" to back Ms Hilling's claim.
He told MPs: "The majority of torchbearers are nominated by the London Organising Committee and they have specifically gone out to look for community champions with the sponsors, where quite a lot of the controversy lies.
"Locog wrote to them and discouraged them from allowing executives to run with the torch and encouraged them to find as many local champions as possible."
Ms Hilling later criticised the idea firms could sell slots to carry the flame.
She said: "I know we need to raise money for the Games but carrying the torch is such an honour for people that it doesn't seem right that people can buy it.
"We have said the taxpayer can't fund the whole of the Games so I understand there has to be some commercialisation, but carrying the flame is an honour which shouldn't be paid for.
"I nominated people who were really worthy and sadly they didn't get to carry the flame."
Occupy London protesters to ‘vaporise’ gay cruising on Hampstead Heath - pinknews.co.uk
A group of anti-capitalist Occupy London protesters took up residence on Hampstead Heath this week and defended the camp, saying it would improve the area by driving out the men who meet there for sex.
Having been removed from their central London spot outside St Paul’s Cathedral, a group of anti-capitalists made camp on the north London Heath, Hampstead & Highgate Express reported.
Timothy Sullivan, a 46-year-old protester, responded to potential objections to the group’s presence by saying they would improve safety by deterring gay cruising on the Heath.
He told the paper: “We could vaporise that problem just being here and let people enjoy their open space again.”
But of the Occupy London protesters, one nature enthusiast said: “If you get 10, you get 50, then you get 500, then it can becomes a bit of a disaster. You have got to think about sanitary issues and also where are they going to put their garbage?”
A spokesman for the City of London Corporation, which is responsible for the Heath’s management, said: “As the best piece of heavily-used urban green space near to the heart of any global metropolis, Hampstead Heath is no stranger to this issue and the bylaws are very clear – no camping. Full stop.”
Plans to remove the tents were not confirmed by the City of London Corporation, over whose control over the Heath Occupy London are protesting.
Discuss this →London men stake their place in the fashion spending arena - fashion.telegraph.co.uk
Notable rises in male spending have been reported ahead of London's first men's fashion week, London Collections: Men.
BY Alice Newbold | 14 June 2012
Burberry men's live stream Photo: REX
The reputation of menswear has long been shackled by the image of begrudging males sitting outside female changing rooms on endless, uninspiring weekend quests to department stores. Or the stalwart socks and tie or socks and knitwear combo invariably bought for fathers and grandfathers across the British nation for birthdays and holidays, alike.
Tarnishing the notion that men remain only excited about football, Rihanna and varieties of lager are the American Express Business Insights team. Ahead of London Collections: Men, which launches today, the banking sector conducted a study assessing the aggregated spending behaviour of millions of card members. The trend that emerged was, ironically (and pun-worthy), men's fashion.
READ: London to get its own Men's Fashion Week(end)
The data analytics arm of America Express found that males born after 1982 - "Generation Y" - increased their overall spending on fashion faster than all other generations. Shopping at a heightened rate of 4% every year Generation Y whipped out their plastic at twice the rate of the next fastest generation, the "Baby Boomers" (those born between 1945 and 1964).
Tagging the male mentality towards fashion as a basic "famine or feast approach", men, it appears, resist high street splurges in favour of luxury goods, spending 24% more per transaction, though less often, than their female counterparts.
Commenting on Burberry's announcement last month that they had experienced a 26% increase in menswear sales, chief executive of the British heritage brand, Angela Ahrendts said: "In this economic environment, men want to look better, they want to look sharper."
READ: Burberry's Angela Ahrendts: men want to look smart
While Burberry's tailoring and enhanced ranges drove a 26% rise in their menswear sales, the overall year-on-year spending on luxury fashion increased by 5.7% in Generation Y men and 1% in all males. British male shoppers subsequently snubbed mainstream lines decreasing their spending by 1.2%, while women lapped up the high street, spending 0.7% less on luxury goods and 5.7% more on high street fashion fixes.
"There is a reason that London is hosting its first men's fashion week: men in the city are clearly staking their place in the fashion spending arena," affirms Sujata Bhatia, vice president of International Business Insights at American Express.
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