A TORY MP called a prominent pro-EU campaigner a “scrounger” and “parasite” in a clash outside a pub in London.
Lee Anderson, the MP for Ashfield since 2019, was sitting outside the Red Lion pub near the House of Commons when the incident with Steve Bray took place.
Bray, a Welsh activist who protested against Brexit daily in Westminster from 2018-2019, is also known as the “Stop Brexit” guy – and was often heard on news broadcasts outside the Parliament.
Richard Tice (right) with anti-Brexit protester Steve Bray
The campaigner posted online about the clash, suggesting he would consider legal action against the MP.
The Guido Fawkes website posted the full footage of the exchange from the perspective of a person sitting beside Anderson outside the pub. According to Bray, he too has footage which he will post in due course.
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The clip shows Bray asking Anderson: “Have you got to be a Conservative MP to lie to people?”
Anderson responds: “No. Just get a job.”
Bray then asked: “And why do you lie to people up north?”
The MP replied asking Bray why he is “bothering” people and calls him a “disgrace”.
“What do you contribute towards society? You’re nothing but a parasite, a malingerer and a scrounger. Now clear off,” Anderson tells Bray.
Bray previously stood as a LibDem candidate at the 2019 General Election.
Former party leader Jo Swinson welcomed his candidacy, calling him a “passionate campaigner”.
“He has been well-known within the Remain cause more widely and I am sure he will bring that energy to the campaign here in Wales,” she said.
Labour held the Cynon Valley seat in 2019, with Bray taking 3.1% of the vote.
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