Lee Anderson told to apologise after swearing at parliamentary security officer

Lee Anderson has been ordered to apologise to the Commons for breaking bullying and harassment rules after a standards watchdog found he twice swore at a security guard when his parliamentary pass did not work.

The Reform UK MP allegedly told the officer “f*** off, everyone opens the door to me, you are the only one” when he was told he needed to have his card checked at the gates to the Westminster estate.

When the guard repeated that the pass had to be examined, Mr Anderson approached them before saying “f*** you, I have a train to catch” and walking out of the search post.

A complaint about the incident on November 3 was upheld by Parliament’s standards commissioner.

Mr Anderson initially appealed against the finding to the Independent Expert Panel, but his case was dismissed on the basis that it “failed to raise any substantive grounds”.

Since then, he has “accepted the commissioner’s finding that he had sworn at the complainant and that his behaviour had been a breach of the bullying and harassment policy”, the panel said.

It added: “He had also expressed a desire to apologise.

“The sub-panel accepted Mr Anderson’s evidence that he had faced ‘challenging personal circumstances’ on the day in question and his ‘unacceptable behaviour’ was ‘not planned or premeditated’.”

In its findings, the watchdog highlighted the “power imbalance” between the prominent MP and the security officer and noted the importance laid out in Parliament’s behaviour code not to “abuse” his influence or authority.

Mr Anderson should apologise both to the complainant in writing and to the House of Commons by way of a personal statement, the watchdog concluded.

Mr Anderson has been contacted for comment.