Lee Anderson: who is the Ashfield MP who met with Boris Johnson then tested positive for Covid?

Conservative MP Lee Anderson tested positive for coronavirus just days after a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The meeting has resulted in Boris Johnson being forced to self-isolate during a crucial week for his leadership.

The Prime Minister had been planning to start the week by relaunching his premiership after days of infighting which led to the exit of his top adviser Dominic Cummings and communications director Lee Cain.

Mr Johnson, who was admitted to intensive care with coronavirus in April, was notified by NHS Test and Trace on Sunday that he must self-isolate and remain at Number 10 for 14 days.

In a video message posted on Twitter on Monday morning, Mr Johnson said he would continue to “lead on our response to the virus & our plans to #BuildBackBetter”.

He said he was “in good health” and that he has “no symptoms” after the meeting with Tory MP Lee Anderson.

Mr Johnson said he would have “plenty more to say by Zoom and other means of electronic communication” as he looks to move on from a tumultuous past week at the top of Government.

What did Lee Anderson say?

In a social media post on Sunday, Lee Anderson Posted the following: “Isolating.

“On Friday I lost my sense of taste at the same time my wife had a bad headache. I had no cough, no fever and felt well. We both had a test on Saturday and the result came in Sunday morning.

“My wife and I both tested positive.

“I feel absolutely fine and my biggest concern is my wife who is in the shielded group.

“But we are both feeling good.”

Who is Lee Anderson?

Mr Anderson was a long-time Labour Party member and served as a councillor in the Huthwaite and Brierly ward of Ashfield in Nottinghamshire where he was elected in 2015.

A vocal Brexiteer, having supported the Vote Leave campaign, Mr Anderson subsequently defected to the Conservatives in 2018 and was later elected as a Tory councillor for the Oakham ward in Mansfield.

He became the MP for Ashfield following the 2019 general election, succeeding Gloria De Piero – who stood down.

As a candidate, he said “nuisance” council house tenants should be forced to live in tents and pick vegetables for 12 hours a day from 6am as punishment.

Mr Anderson was among three Tory MPs investigated over allegations of anti-Semitism in December 2019, and was said to be an active member of a Facebook group where George Soros conspiracies were promoted.

In September 2020, Mr Anderson spoke out about other MPs labelling each other “fat old racists” if they supported Brexit.

He also accused Gary Lineker of “virtue signalling” after the Match Of The Day host housed a refugee in his home, saying he should look after “the next boat of illegal immigrants”.

Which Tory MPs are self-isolating?

Four other Conservative MPs who were at the meeting are now self-isolating.

These are Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble), Andy Carter (Warrington South), Lia Nici (Great Grimsby) and Brendan Clarke-Smith (Bassetlaw).