Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson has raised a few eyebrows after he pulled out of the launch of a new pressure group demanding Rishi Sunak get tougher on immigration.
The Ashfield MP was listed to speak at the launch of The New Conservatives’ 12-point plan to reduce legal arrivals by two-thirds by the time of the next election.
The launch of the report in Westminster today is seen as heaping huge pressure on the PM, who is also under fire over illegal migration and the Rwanda deportation scheme.
The expected presence of Mr Anderson raised some eyebrows given his senior official position in the party, though he is not a member of the government.
However The New Conservatives’ deputy chairman Danny Kruger told the launch event that Anderson had ‘a terrible sick bug’ and would not be attending. His name was also missing from a list of MPs who support its recommendations.
Earlier on in the House of Commons, Yvette Cooper wished Anderson a speedy recovery from the bug that “prevented him from launching an entirely different Tory immigration policy”.
She asked the home secretary whether she agreed with him that social care visas should be cancelled.
Watch the clip in full below:
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