New Tory deputy chair Lee Anderson facing libel proceedings after he made ‘defamatory claim’ on Facebook amid local planning row – but action prompts anger at ‘lefty lawyers trying to silence elected representatives’
- Top legal firm instructed to pursue libel proceedings against Lee Anderson
- It’s the latest row to involve the Ashfield MP since he became Tory deputy chair
A top legal firm has been instructed to pursue libel proceedings against new Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson amid a local planning row.
Bindmans LLP revealed its client, Michael Hollis, considered remarks the Ashfield MP made about a planning application to be defamatory.
The firm claimed Mr Hollis, who runs a food bank charity, was ‘outraged’ by an allegation made against him by Mr Anderson in a Facebook post.
He is now starting legal action after the Conservative politician ‘refused to remove his post’, Mr Hollis’s solicitors added.
But the dispute has led to claims that ‘activist lefty lawyers’ are ‘trying to silence elected representatives’.
The row is the latest controversy to involve Lee Anderson since he was appointed as the Conservative Party’s deputy chairman by Tory leader Rishi Sunak earlier this month
The row is the latest controversy to involve Mr Anderson since he was appointed as the Conservative Party’s deputy chairman by Tory leader Rishi Sunak earlier this month.
The outspoken 56-year-old was widely criticised last week after he revealed he backed the reintroduction of capital punishment in Britain.
He has previously been dubbed ’30p Lee’ after he claimed there’s not a ‘massive use’ for food banks in Britain and offered ‘proof’ that meals can be cooked for 30p each.
On 1 February, Mr Anderson made a reference to ‘brown envelopes’ on social media as he queried a planning application he claimed had been passed by local councillors.
In his Facebook post, the Ashfield MP included screenshot of a planning application made in Mr Hollis’s name, referring to a property in Silverhill Lane, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
It was listed as a valid application on December 12, 2022, with a decision due by February 6.
In a statement published on its website today, Bindmans LLP said: ‘On February 1, 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.’
A senior Conservative source said: ‘This is another example of activist lefty lawyers trying to silence elected representatives by threatening litigation.
‘The simple facts are that the council’s own officials considered the development to be inappropriate and that this was subsequently overturned by local politicians.
‘It just so happens that the applicant’s son, who has multiple criminal convictions, is the council’s Executive Lead Member for Housing.’
Tom Hollis, who is listed on Ashfield District Council’s website as ‘Executive Lead Member for Council and Social Housing’, was last year found guilty of harassing his former neighbour and of careless driving, according to the Nottingham Post.
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