Lee Anderson kicked out of Commons after accusing PM of 'lying' about Lord Mandelson

Georgia Pearce
Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:48:40 +0000

Lee Anderson has been booted out of the House of Commons after accusing Sir Keir Starmer of "lying".

Addressing MPs following the Prime Minister's statement on Lord Peter Mandelson's appointment, the Reform UK MP declared Sir Keir "couldn't lie straight in bed".

Mr Anderson declared: "The problem is no one believes him. The public don't believe him.

"The MPs on this side of the House don't believe him. His own gullible backbenchers don't believe him.

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"So does the Prime Minister agree with me? He's been lying."

Interjecting Mr Anderson, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle scolded the Reform MP's use of language.

He stated: "Sorry, we don't use those words, and I'm sure the member's withdrawn it?"

Mr Anderson stood firm on his accusation, doubling down on his statement to the House.

Mr Anderson made clear: "Mr Speaker, I have the greatest respect for you in your office, but I will not withdraw.

"That man couldn't lie straight in bed!"

The Speaker was forced to remove the Reform MP from the Commons, telling him he "had to leave".

The Speaker declared: "Order! Mr Anderson, you'll have to leave."

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The incident follows a 15-minute statement from the Prime Minister, where he set out the "staggering" timeline of the disgraced peer's appointment as US Ambassador.

Addressing MPs, Sir Keir admitted that he "should not of appointed him", but made clear that he was "not told" about the failed security vetting by Foreign Office officials.

He said: "Last Tuesday evening, April 14, I found out for the first time that on January 29, 2025, before Peter Mandelson took up his position as ambassador, the Foreign Official officials granted him developed vetting clearance against the specific recommendation of the United Kingdom Security Vetting that developed vetting clearance should be denied.

“Not only that, the Foreign Office officials who made that decision did not pass this information to me, to the Foreign Secretary, to her predecessor, the Deputy Prime Minister, to any other minister, or even to the former cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald.

"I found this staggering, and therefore last Tuesday I immediately instructed officials in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office to urgently establish the facts on my authority."

Expressing his outrage at not being informed of the failed vetting, Sir Keir made clear: "I do not accept that I could not have been told about UK's denial of security vetting before Peter Mandelson took up his post in January 25th.

"I do not accept that the then cabinet secretary could not have been told in September 2025, when he carried out his review into the process.

"I do not accept that the Foreign Secretary could not have been told when making statements to the select committee again in 2025."