A man who runs a food bank charity is pursuing a libel claim against the new vice-chair of the Conservatives, a law firm has said.
Michael Hollis alleges that Lee Anderson, who once claimed that people could feed themselves on 30p a day, defamed him in a Facebook post that he later refused to take down.
According to Hollis, the MP for Ashfield, who was appointed deputy Tory chair last week by Rishi Sunak, allegedly told his 35,000 followers that Hollis had exchanged cash in brown envelopes in relation to a planning application.
Hollis has instructed legal firm Bindmans to pursue a libel claim against Anderson.
In a statement published on its website on Monday, the firm alleged: “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.”
Anderson’s social media post included a screenshot of a planning application made in Hollis’s name, referring to a property in Silverhill Lane, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
It is not the only libel case with which Anderson has been threatened, after the activist Jack Monroe instructed lawyers to start a claim after the Tory MP alleged the writer and food blogger was profiteering from the poor.
The politician is known for his forthright political opinions. The former Labour councillor told the Spectator, in an interview that took place before his Tory party appointment but published afterwards, that he supported bringing back the death penalty.
Anderson has been approached for comment.
