Lee Anderson used one of his employees to make a bizarre point about food banks today.
The Tory MP, widely known as ’30p Lee’ following previous food bank comments, said his staffer, called Katy, is single and earns less than £30,000 a year, has student debt and spends money commuting – but still “does not need to use a foodbank”.
Last year the Ashfield MP provoked outrage after he invited “everybody” on the opposition benches in the House of Commons to visit a food bank in his constituency, where, when people come for a food parcel, they now need to register for a “budgeting course” and a “cooking course”.
He claimed food bank users in his constituency are shown how to cook meals for “about 30 pence a day.
When asked by a Labour MP if it should be necessary to have food banks in 21st century Britain, Anderson said there is not “this massive use for food banks” in the UK, but “generation after generation who cannot cook properly” and “cannot budget”.
Related: Steve Bray reports Lee Anderson to police following scuffle outside Portcullis House