BRUSSELS (AP) — A Belgian environment minister has been forced to climb down over accusations that the massive climate demonstrations in Belgium over the past weeks were a plot and that she had state security confirmation.

Though regional environment minister Joke Schauvliege said Tuesday she had no such information from state security services, she said she would not step down over her remarks.

Over the past two months, tens of thousands of protesters have demonstrated across the country for better climate protections and have often targeted her policies.

At first she welcomed the marches but over the weekend, she said "a lot of people in these marches don't realize that they are part of a system which is a setup." She added that "state security has told me about this."