Lee Anderson told to apologise for swearing at guard

Lee Anderson has been ordered to apologise for breaching Parliament's bullying and harassment policy after twice swearing at a security officer.

An investigation found the Reform UK MP for Ashfield “verbally insulted” the guard twice when asked to show his pass as he tried to enter the Parliamentary estate in November 2023.

Anderson initially dismissed the allegations and called the investigation biased but later admitted using inappropriate language, citing “challenging personal circumstances” that day.

An Independent Expert Panel ruled that Anderson must apologise to the Commons and security officer or face harsher penalties. Anderson has yet to comment.

The security officer reported that Anderson swore at him, saying “everyone opens the door to me” when asked to show his pass at an entrance into the Parliamentary estate.

When the guard repeated that the pass had to be examined, Anderson swore again before leaving claiming he had "a train to catch".

Anderson, who switched to Reform UK in March after being elected as a Tory in 2019, initially denied swearing and called the exchange "just two grown men having a difference of opinion".

But Parliament's standards commissioner upheld the complaint against him.

Anderson appealed to the Independent Expert Panel, arguing that “there is absolutely no evidence to prove or disprove” what words he used, as the CCTV footage of the incident did not have sound.

The panel dismissed his claim and ordered him to deliver a pre-agreed apology in the Commons and in writing to the security officer.

Since then, Anderson has "accepted the commissioner's finding that he had sworn at the complainant and that his behaviour had been a breach of the bullying and harassment policy," the panel said.

"He had also expressed a desire to apologise," the report said.

The panel accepted Anderson's evidence that he had faced "challenging personal circumstances" on the day and his "unacceptable behaviour was not planned or premeditated".

In its report, the watchdog pointed to the “power imbalance” between the MP and the officer, reminding that Parliament’s code forbids misuse of influence.