Anderson is accused of defaming Michael Hollis on a Facebook page.
Tory Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson, who has made headlines in recent days over his alleged links to the far-right and his support for bringing back the death penalty, is now the subject of a libel claim from a man who runs a foodbank charity.
Anderson, who once claimed that people could feed themselves on 30p a day and who has previously said that those who use foodbanks don’t know how to cook or budget, is accused of defaming Michael Hollis on a Facebook page.
It is alleged that the MP for Ashfield told his 35,000 followers that Hollis had exchanged cash in brown envelopes in relation to a planning application, the Guardian reports.
Hollis has instructed legal firm Bindmans to pursue a libel claim against Anderson.
In a statement published on its website on Monday, Bindmans said: “On 1 February 2023, Mr Anderson made defamatory allegations of bribery against a local man, Michael Hollis, who runs a food bank charity. Mr Anderson claimed in a Facebook post published to his 35,000 followers that money had changed hands in brown envelopes in relation to a planning application made by Mr Hollis.
“Mr Hollis is outraged by this allegation and, after Mr Anderson refused to remove his post, has taken the first steps towards a libel claim against him.”
Anderson’s post included a screenshot of a planning application made in Hollis’s name, referring to a property in Silverhill Lane, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
Anderson has been contacted for comment.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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