10 February 2023 , 02:08
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The government came under fire from an 'appalled' member of the audience on last night's BBC Question Time after Lee Anderson's controversial promotion within the Tory party.
Thursday's episode of the weekly debate show was broadcast from Swindon in Wiltshire, with Fiona Bruce taking up her regular hosting duties as the panel covered an eclectic selection of topics, including the war on Ukraine and the effect of AI on jobs.
But some of the most pointed questions of the evening were saved for Tory MP George Freeman, minister of the newly created Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, when the matter of the party's new deputy chairman was raised.
Mr Freeman told Fiona he "absolutely" did not agree with Lee Anderson's views following his promotion to Tory deputy chairman (BBC)Lee Anderson, who was once nicknamed '30p Lee' after claiming he could cook budget meals from scratch, caused uproar only days before his promotion to his new role with comments that appeared to support the death penalty.
Asked by Fiona whether these were appropriate comments for a senior member of the party, Mr Freeman made an initial attempt to distance himself from them.
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He told Fiona he "absolutely" did not agree with Anderson's views and pointed out that he had not been given a cabinet position but one within the parliamentary party.
An audience member asked why Tory MPs were 'happy to sit in another round of musical chairs in the cabinet office' (BBC)"There is no doubt that what Lee Anderson said is completely in breach of the standards you would expect from ministers"
But he then went on to defend his appointment to Tory deputy chairman, saying it was "really important in a parliament that people can speak" and that they were able to make arguments "as they see it for their constituencies".
George Freeman said it was 'really important in a parliament that people can speak' (BBC)His balancing act however left one member of the audience distinctly unimpressed, as she likened likening to situation to Liz Truss's refusal to call a general election and an incident where Jonathan Gullis appeared to heckle other members of parliament in the chamber.
"The fact that anybody can sit there and defend that, and be happy to sit in another round of musical chairs in the cabinet office - I just think it’s frankly appalling", she commented.
Criticism also came from Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up Lisa Nandy, who said Mr Anderson's appointment was a "real problem" as it showed that the Prime Minister had decided "this is the person that he want to be the face of the Conservative Party".