Newly appointed deputy Conservative Party chairman Lee Anderson has clashed with a radio presenter over accusations of dishonesty.
Mr Anderson, who was promoted by Rishi Sunak this week, was asked about a video of him speaking to a constituent in his seat of Ashfield during the 2019 election - a seat which he won with a 5,733 majority.
In the clip, Mr Anderson was caught on microphone asking a voter ahead of a random door knock: “Make out you know who I am... you know I’m the candidate, but not a friend, alright?”
Mr Anderson was asked about the incident during a pre-recorded interview with BBC Radio Nottingham presenter Verity Cowley on Wednesday.
“There is a worry by some that you might be a bit dishonest,” Cowley says.
After being asked “if she has ever told a lie” by the Ashfield MP, the presenter says: “I’m talking about that video that you did where you asked a friend to pose as an anti-Labour swing voter.”
Mr Anderson then asks Cowley several more times if she has ever told a lie.
“I’ve never asked somebody to pretend to be something they’re not just to further my campaign,” Cowley adds.
Cowley then says humans tell false truths to protect people.
“So you’re a liar, so you’re dishonest,” Mr Anderson replies.
Never forget the time Lee Anderson was caught out staging a fake doorstep chat with his mate.pic.twitter.com/Hd8iBNlk0y
— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) January 21, 2023
He goes on to say: “Let's talk about that video because three weeks afterwards, I was voted in as the first-ever Conservative MP, beating Labour by 8,000 votes.
“So that’s what the people of Ashfield think and that's all that matters to me.”
He said: “Nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed. You know that, don’t you? 100 per cent success rate.”
The death penalty for murder in the UK was outlawed permanently in 1969, with it totally abolished for all crimes in 1998.
Mr Anderson became the first Tory MP to represent Ashfield following the 2019 election and has sparked further controversy by refusing to support the England team for taking the knee, and claiming nurses should not need to use foodbanks.
