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Published 16:55 20 Apr 2026 BST
Updated 16:55 20 Apr 2026 BST

Lee Anderson was ordered to leave the House of Commons after accusing Keir Starmer of lying about his knowledge of Peter Mandelson’s failed security vetting.
On Monday afternoon, the prime minister addressed the Commons following the revelation that Mandelson failed security vetting before becoming US ambassador.
During his address, Starmer said he should not have appointed Mandelson as ambassador and apologised to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein who were “clearly failed by my decision.”
The PM said if he had known about the fact Mandelson had failed the vetting, he would not have gone ahead with the appointment.
Starmer reiterated that he had not been made aware about the vetting decision by the Foreign Office, something he described as “staggering.”
Following his statement, MPs asked questions to the PM about the controversy.
One of these MPs was Reform’s Lee Anderson, who stood up and said that the “problem the prime minister’s got is that no one believes him.”
“The public don’t believe him, the MPs on this side don’t believe him, his own gullible backbenchers don’t believe him,” he continued. “So does the prime minister agree with me he’s been lying?”
This prompted an immediate interjection from Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who told the Ashfield MP: “We don’t use those words and I’m sure the member’s withdrawn it?”
But Anderson then stood up and said: “Mr Speaker, I have the greatest respect for you and your office but I will not withdraw, that man couldn’t lie straight in bed!”
As a result, the Speaker ordered him to leave the chamber.
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