Lee Anderson says he supports bringing back the death penalty, claiming it’s “100% effective.” As quickly as the controversy made headlines, PM Sunak distanced himself from his new deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. “That’s not my view, that’s not the Government’s view,” said Sunak.
Lee Anderson has only been on the job for two days and is already causing a stir.
“I just gave an honest answer. In some circumstances, not all, it is very difficult to argue against. There is probably a reason I have been given this job. I’m not quite sure yet. People say I am outspoken and controversial, I don’t think I am. My inbox is full of support. My constituents come out of the shops and houses and say, ‘You are saying what we are thinking, thank you,'” the Nottinghamshire MP told ITV news.
But that’s not all.
The new deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, has also clashed with a BBC journalist over accusations of dishonesty.
In a radio interview, Anderson was asked about a video of him setting up a fake encounter with an anti-Labour voter during the 2019 election campaign. The journalist called out Lee for having his friend posing as an anti-Labour swing voter.
He responded with counterattack, asking the presenter Verity Cowley ten times whether she’d ever told a lie.
Just another day in Westminster.
