MP defends 'stir-pot' Facebook post claiming Ashfield miner statue under threat ‘from the left’

Conservative MP Lee Anderson has since deleted the post after an ‘avalanche of criticism’ over the ‘incendiary’ comment, in which he questioned the safety of a bronze statue of a coal miner at Silver Hill Woods, adding: “Once it’s there the Left will look for a reason to wipe out all of our history to suit their own agenda”.

It comes after the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was toppled and thrown into a harbour by Black Lives Matter demonstrators in Bristol.

The post has been labelled ‘irresponsible’ by Councillor Jason Zadrozny, Ashfield District Council leader, who slammed it as ‘rabble-rousing’ and ‘an attempt to stir up trouble’.

While there were calls from some residents to implement extra security around the statue, others replied: “No one is suggesting it should be removed. This a deliberately divisive tactic designed to inflame the situation.”

Another said: “No one wants to attack statues of miners. This is just a pot-stir post. Do you think the Tories ever supported the miners?”

But when contacted by the Chad, Mr Anderson said he stuck by the ‘sentiment’ of the post about ‘removing British history’, adding: “I removed the post because of the threats I was getting.

“I have recently had panic buttons and a whole range of security measures at home and my office due to threats of violence.”

Mr Anderson also came under fire for taking part in a photoshoot at the statue of Winston Churchill in London’s Parliament Square on Monday.

He was pictured with four other Conservative members claiming to be cleaning the words ‘…was a racist’ off the iconic statue.

But it was later revealed that a specialist cleaner, who is also called Winston, had carried out the work.

“A group of us went to clean the statue last Monday,” said Mr Anderson in response.

“We were just a group of many who turned out to help clean it. We were stopped from cleaning it when a professional cleaning company turned up.

“We stopped and let the professionals take over. What is wrong with that?”

Mr Anderson was elected as Ashfield’s MP in December 2019, succeeding Labour’s Gloria De Piero.

A former Labour party member and councillor, he defected to the Conservatives in March 2018 as he felt Labour no longer represented the interest of ‘hardworking men and women’.

Local community campaigner Jo Alvey who lives in Skegby, said: “I am absolutely fuming.

“Our Conservative MP was a former Labour councillor but is now claiming that the Left would defile a monument to our miners.

“I am disgusted that he thinks it was appropriate to post rubbish like this. I would be furious if a member of the public posted this, never mind the MP.”

Councillor Zadrozny said he had written to Conservative Party co-chairman Amanda Milling MP and the Parliamentary Standard’s Commissioner to ask them to investigate and remind MPs of their responsibilities when using social media.

He said: “Putting to one side the destruction that the Conservatives caused the mining industry, this post has created panic in our communities.

“As the leader of Ashfield District Council, I have received several calls from residents asking me to improve security around our beloved statue.

“I’ve had to explain that there was never any threat to it- there never was.”

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