Lee Anderson sparks new controversy on GB News show with cat food segment

Deputy Conservative Party chairman Lee Anderson, nicknamed “30p Lee” over controversial comments on food banks and food poverty, has now been met with yet more backlash over a food-related incident on his GB News show.

The MP for Ashfield, in Nottinghamshire, has already made headlines with Lee Anderson’s Real World after spoon-feeding Boris Johnson supporter and Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith baked beans, and getting told off for filming a promo clip on the roof of parliament.

The show – which also sees individuals nominate a “wokey of the week” and features a “token lefty” – comes with a £100,000-a-year paycheck for Anderson.

Yes, really.

He’s been called a “hypocrite” over the decision, seeing as back in 2021 he claimed “if you need an extra £100,000 a year on top” of being an MP then “you should really be looking for another job”.

And if all this ridiculousness wasn’t enough, the Tory politician is now under fire for trying to make one of his guests – fellow GB News presenter Michelle Dewberry - eat cat food on national television.

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It comes after the Apprentice winner decided to “identify as a cat” on an episode of Dewbs & Co in response to reports of a teacher branding a child “despicable” during a debate on transgender identities, in which one student referred to a girl at the college supposedly identifying as a cat.

Despite the college in question – Rye College in East Sussex – confirming that none of its pupils “identify as a cat or any other animal”, the issue was seized upon by Conservative politicians and commentators, with women and equalities minister Kemi Badenoch calling on Ofsted to inspect the college following the incident.

Bringing up Dewberry’s temporary rebranding as “Meow-chelle”, Anderson said he wanted to “dismiss this as just a bit”.

Dewberry responded: “If this is going the way I think it’s going, and you’re about to bring out a plate of Whiskas, you can bugger off! I’m not eating bloody cat… are you mental?”

After Anderson held up the tin of cat food and preceded to open it, his guest insisted she was not a cat and suggested the Tory MP “go first and I follow”.

The politician held out his hand to get Dewberry to shake on it, and said it was a “challenge”, but Dewberry declined.

She added: “Can I just make something absolutely clear? I’m not a cat, right?

“I did fail [the challenge] but I am happy to take that on the chin, because in life, there are certain things you should fail at. Failing, sometimes, is not losing; it’s just being sensible.”

The presenter conceded her stunt was “flippant”, but argued “the world has gone mad” and that “adults are indulging children in their nonsense”.

We’d argue the cat food debacle is far more nonsensical…

Anyway, Mr Anderson has since been branded an “embarrassment” over the incident, which has been described as “deeply weird and uncomfortable” to watch:

And alongside annoying people with his food bank remarks and forcing TV guests to eat cat food, he’s now kicked off a debate over whether it’s a cob, roll or something else entirely, making it clear he’s on team cob.

Ironic, really, considering that when it comes to food-based scandals, he’s very much on a roll (sorry)…

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