Lee Anderson has denied claims he has been "silenced" by the Conservative Party after giving up his weekly GB News slot because of his new job. The Conservative MP for Ashfield, first elected in 2019, was recently promoted to be deputy chairman of the Conservative Party by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The controversial MP said he would be taking his new role "extremely seriously" in the run-up to next general election, expected in 2024. As part of this, Mr Anderson said he will not be making his usual weekly appearances on the GB News channel.
Mr Anderson has been a regular contributor on the channel since November in a segment called 'The Real World With Lee Anderson', featured on a programme presented by Dan Wootton. The MPs' Register of Interests shows that Mr Anderson was being paid £200 a week for his contribution, but he has now announced that his weekly slot will be coming to an end.
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Referring to his appearance on the channel on Wednesday (February 15), Mr Anderson wrote on Facebook: "My last show with Dan due to my new job. It's going to be emotional."
Following his announcement, Mr Anderson said he had heard claims that the end of his GB News slot meant he had been silenced. But following his final regular appearance, he added on Facebook: "Saw some comments earlier stating I had stopped doing my weekly slot as I was being silenced.
"This is nonsense. My new role involves quite a bit of extra evening work doing fundraising events and meeting members.
"As much as I enjoy my GB News stuff my party has to come first especially now I have a new role. I will still do GB News when I can with Dan and keep your eyes peeled for future stuff on GB News that will involve me."
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