Politics
Reform MP Lee Anderson Removed From Commons
Lee Anderson was thrown out of the House of Commons after accusing Keir Starmer of “lying”.
The Reform MP hit out at the prime minister as he came under pressure over the latest Peter Mandelson revelations.
Starmer insisted he was not told by Foreign Office civil servants that the shamed former Labour peer had failed security vetting before he made him the UK’s ambassador to Washington.
The PM said it was “staggering” that he and his ministers were kept in the dark.
But Anderson said: “The problem the prime minister’s got is no one believes him. The public don’t believe him, the MPs on this side of the house don’t believe him, his own gullible backbenchers don’t believe him.
“So does the prime minister agree with me he’s been lying?”
Accusing another MP of lying is banned in the Commons.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle told Anderson: “Sorry, we don’t use those words, and I’m sure the member’s withdrawn it.”
Anderson replied: “Mr Speaker, I have the greatest respect for you and your office, but I will not withdraw. That man couldn’t lie straight in bed.”
Hoyle said: “Mr Anderson, you’ll have to leave.”
In a post on X, Reform UK said Anderson had been “kicked out of parliament for telling the truth” about the prime minister.
Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login