Lee Anderson has targeted a former Conservative MP over comments she made after Labour swept to victory in the General Election. Anna Soubry, a former MP who left the Tories in 2019 over Brexit, tweeted two days after Britons went to the polls: “Is it just me but suddenly everything feels… normal?
“No more psycho dramas and scandals. Like the grown ups are back in Govt & people can get on with their lives watching politics out [of] the corner of their eyes. Safe”.
Mr Anderson, one of Reform UK’s five MPs, shared the tweet on Sunday (August 4), under the comment: “Another one that has aged well one month on. Proper grown ups”.
His criticism came as far right thugs ran amok in towns and cities across the country sparked by false claims spread online.
Axel Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, has been charged with murder and attempted murder of three girls who were stabbed during a dance workshop. A trial date has been set for January 20.
Among the scenes of widespread and continued disorder on Sunday, anti-immigration rioters smashed the windows of a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham before starting fires.
Masked men hurled wood, chairs and bottles with some spraying fire extinguishers at police officers amid a 700-strong crowd. At least 10 officers were injured, with one knocked unconscious, according to South Yorkshire Police.
Mr Anderson’s tweet came after Ms Soubry accused Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, of “fanning the flames” of the rioting. In a tweet she posted on Saturday (August 3), the former politician said: “Parliament was recalled in 2011 in response to riots; Farage said ‘troops’ should be called in to restore order.
“13 years on he’s singing a different tune but then he’s been fanning the flames. Parliament should be recalled and #Farage & his motley crew should be held to account”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has rejected calls for Parliament to be recalled, despite MPs from across the political spectrum having demanded Parliamentarians return from their summer holiday.
Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel, Labour MPs including Diane Abbott and Dawn Butler, and Mr Farage have all called for the Commons to cut short the recess after the country endured another night of violence on Sunday.
Addressing calls for a Commons return after an emergency Cobra meeting held to deal with the riots, Sir Keir said: “My focus is on ensuring we have got the right people carrying out their duties to ensure that our streets are safe.
“For the public, that is the first duty of Government and that is where my absolute focus is.”
Mr Farage said the country needs to have “a more honest debate” about immigration, integration and policing to “give people the confidence that there are political solutions that are relevant to them”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman did not rule out recalling Parliament, but said the Government’s focus was “to ensure communities are kept safe, to ensure people who have participated in this violent disorder face the full force of the law”.
Parliament has only been recalled from recess six times in the past decade – once in 2016 to pay tribute to Labour MP Jo Cox after her murder by a far-right terrorist; on three occasions in 2020 and 2021 to debate issues related to the pandemic; again in April 2021 to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh after his death, and most recently in August 2021 after the fall of Kabul.
Ms Soubry has been approached for comment about Mr Anderson’s tweet.
