'I had 55 in one day': Tory MP Lee Anderson reveals daily death threats

By ITV News Westminster Producer Lucy McDaid

Conservative MP Lee Anderson has revealed he gets inundated with daily death threats, telling ITV News he once received 55 in a day.

The controversial deputy chair of the Tory Party said the daily attacks make him angry, adding: "A lot of people don't know what an MP does."

Responding to a member of the public who accused him of "not doing a lot", Mr Anderson said: "He doesn't know that I work 14 or 15 hours a day, seven days a week, that I get death threats every day, he doesn't know that my family gets threatened."

Mr Anderson used to be a Labour councillor until he defected to the Tories for the 2019 general election.

He won a majority of 5,733 and has represented Ashfield, a once rock-solid Labour seat in Nottinghamshire, for four years. When asked about death threats, he said: "I have had loads, yeah... 55 in one day."

They're not just to him either, he added, but to his family members too. "I had a lot of hate when I left the Labour Party and joined the Tory Party - there's instantly more hate there from the left," he said. A former coalminer, Mr Anderson caused outrage in February when he called for the restoration of the death penalty.

He also made headlines last year after claiming foodbank users could make meals for 30p, later earning himself the notorious nickname '30p Lee'. Mr Anderson defends these comments, insisting he supports the use of foodbanks but believes some people need to better manage their budgets and batch cook.

ITV News followed Mr Anderson around his constituency for a day during recess.

He said: "My point was, if you budget a little bit better, get the right ingredients, shop around, and cook from scratch, you can make meals a lot cheaper than going to McDonald's or chip shop".

"Out of MPs, you're quite outspoken aren't you?" Asked if he acknowledges he's an outspoken MP, Mr Anderson said: "I don't think I am." He added: "I live in this place, I was a coalminer for many years, and I still talk as a coalminer. "I won't tone it down because when I get to speak in Parliament or in TV interviews, I just think to myself, I'm that bloke who went down the pit when he left school, and when I get up and speak I'm going to speak like that bloke from Ashfield. That's what got him elected."

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