Deputy Conservative party chair Lee Anderson engaged in an “aggressive” confrontation with MP Andrew Bridgen and a former Tory councillor in a parliamentary dining room.
The deputy chair was said to have told 69-year-old Sebastian Leslie to “come outside and we’ll sort it out” as they rowed over Mr Bridgen being expelled from the party.
The extraordinary altercation – during which the ex-Tory councillor asked if Mr Anderson wanted to duel using “pistols or claymores” – came after the deputy chair clashed with Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley.
Mr Bridgen and his guest Mr Leslie were having lunch in Portcullis House after it emerged Mr Bridgen had been kicked out of the Conservative Party for comparing coronavirus vaccines to the Holocaust. They said they became embroiled in an argument with Mr Anderson after seeing him having lunch with friends in the adjournment restaurant.
Mr Bridgen – accused by Mr Anderson of being “rude and aggressive” – was said to have been angered by Tory officials making his expulsion public while he still has time to appeal against the decision.
Mr Leslie, whose daughter Rose Leslie played Ygritte in Game of Thrones, said he told the party deputy “hold on Lee” because “he was being so bloody rude to Andrew”.
“He turned to me and said, ‘Hold on grandad, come outside and we’ll sort it out’,” Mr Leslie continued.
As a chieftain of the Scottish clan Leslie, he asked Mr Anderson whether he wanted to use “pistols or claymores”, which he explained was a reference to ancient traditions of duelling. “He was aggressive and out of control,” Mr Leslie, a grandfather-of-six, added. “It was very threatening and aggressive.”
Mr Leslie, who was suspended from the Tories in 2018 over council tax payments, said he did not plan to make a complaint despite believing the MP was “extremely rude” and “obviously bloody angry”.
In turn, Mr Anderson said Mr Bridgen had been “rude and aggressive” as he lunched with two friends. “I was having lunch with two friends when a very angry-looking Andrew Bridgen walked over with his friend,” the MP for Ashfield said.
He added: “Andrew spoke briefly to one of my guests who he knew but then turned his attentions to me in a rude and aggressive manner. I literally had no idea what he was talking about and then both men left. After apologising to my guests for the outburst, I then walked over to Mr Bridgen’s table to express my disapproval.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Britain’s top police officer accused Mr Anderson of being “personally offensive” in an angry clash over policing. Sir Mark Rowley said the senior Tory had only a “partial understanding of the law” as he was questioned about what the Met was doing to tackle disruptive eco-protests.
Mr Anderson said he “did not think” the Met commissioner was “doing his job correctly”. As the exchange came to a head, Sir Mark told Mr Anderson: “I am not going to sit here ... if people want to be personally offensive, then write it in newspapers – but I’m not going to answer those questions.”
