His comments on vaccines are just the tip of the iceberg
Andrew Bridgen was expelled from the Conservative Party yesterday following his promotion of Covid-19 conspiracy theories.
However, his controversial comments about vaccinations are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the MP for North West Leicestershire. Here are his five worst moments.
1. Comparing Covid-19 vaccines to the holocaust
Andrew Bridgen was given the boot by the Tories after his widely condemned comments on the Covid-19 vaccination programme. He described the vaccination rollout as “the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust” in a tweet which he subsequently deleted in January 2023.
2. Suggesting the Covid-19 virus originated from a US biomedical research centre
In March 2023, Andrew Bridgen tweeted about Covid-19 again. This time, he was spreading misinformation about the origins of the virus, rather than the vaccine.
He said: “I can confirm that during my visit to Washington DC last Christmas/ New Year I was informed that the U.S. DoD were responsible for both the virus and the vaccines. Fort Detrick was named. Also a facility in Canada.”
The conspiracy theory around Fort Detrick being the source of the Covid-19 virus appears to have originated among Chinese government officials. There has never been any evidence that the virus emerged from Fort Detrick.
3. Charging hotel stays on expenses while his staff had to pay their own way
In 2016, it emerged that Andrew Bridgen racked up a £25,000 bill for hotel stays claimed on expenses. He claimed the hotel stays on his expenses for when he needed to be in London for parliamentary business.
However, this luxury was not afforded to his staff. In a 2016 interview, he revealed that they travelled to London to work for him and had to fund their own accommodation for overnight stays.
4. Breaching lobbying rules
Before being expelled from the Conservative Party, Andrew Bridgen was suspended from the House of Commons for breaking lobbying rules. He was found to have breached the rules “on multiple occasions and in multiple ways”.
It was found that he should have told ministers and officials that he received a donation and a funded visit to Ghana from a company and that he had a contract with the firm as an advisor. He was also found to have engaged in an “unacceptable attack upon the integrity” of the Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone.
Bridgen received a five day suspension from the Commons.
5. Pushing for more fossil fuel extraction in a climate emergency
Andrew Bridgen was a signatory to a letter in the Telegraph which called for expansion of oil and gas extraction in the North Sea. Along with 19 other Tory MPs, Bridgen argued for ‘the need to expand North Sea exploration and for shale gas extraction to be supported’.
The letter came just months after the COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow, and as the urgency for decarbonising the economy was front and centre of the political agenda.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
Image credit: UK Parliament – Creative Commons
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