Lee Anderson blasts 'ridiculous' idea he made up assault on veteran after complaint made

Lee Anderson says an Army veteran in his constituency has been left "furious" by the claims

Lee Anderson says the idea he made up an incident about an Ashfield veteran being assaulted is "ridiculous" and that those complaining should meet the man concerned. The Reform UK MP said on social media in early October that two people let out of prison under the government's early release scheme had assaulted a constituent of his.

Posting a picture of a man shown with facial injuries, Mr Anderson said at the time: "The two animals that did this to my constituent have been released early. This young man served four years in the Army. Just let that sink in."

Doubts were expressed about the claim and whether the man in the picture was even an Ashfield constituent, with some claiming he looked like a UFC fighter and others even saying the image could be AI-generated. Chris Boylin, the Ashfield Neighbourhood Commander at Nottinghamshire Police, was asked if he had heard of such an assault.

In an email seen by Nottinghamshire Live, Inspector Boylin said: "Numerous people will have been released through the government's early release scheme across the country, let alone within Ashfield, and without an identity of a victim or alleged suspects I cannot do any more fact finding on this to provide further comment.

"I am not aware of any attacks of this nature within my tenure as the Ashfield Commander but with the fact that the persons allegedly responsible have been released from prison, I can only surmise that if it had happened, then it would have been something that may have occurred last year."

Following the police reply, a complaint has just been put in to the parliamentary commissioner for standards alleging that Mr Anderson made up the story about the veteran. The complaint says: "It is my belief that the 'constituent' that Mr Anderson refers to doesn't exist.

"I believe that Mr Anderson's tweet breaks parliamentary standards and would therefore request a formal investigation." Mr Anderson has responded to the complaint by saying the person who made it should come and meet the veteran concerned to apologise.

Mr Anderson insists he has been in touch with the veteran and his family but that he is not naming him at this stage given that he is still suffering. Responding to the complaint, the Ashfield MP said: "I'm not putting up with that. It's ridiculous.

"Somebody put on Twitter a few weeks back that he wasn't a constituent and that he looked more like a UFC fighter from America. I just ignored it and it's sort of snowballed. This is a war veteran who has been to Afghanistan, who has got PTSD and all sorts of issues. He's got medals.

"He's absolutely furious and his grandma is as well. He lives in Selston, he's a carer for his grandma."

A woman has commented on Mr Anderson's latest Facebook post about the veteran saying that she is his aunty, writing: "This is my nephew. I'm still taking him for hospital appointments and he's recently had long-awaited surgery to fix his nose and help him to regain his taste smell and breathing."

Around 1,700 prisoners across the country were recently released early as Prime Minister Keir Starmer said prisons had been left at "crisis point" by the Conservatives. Ministry of Justice figures show the prison population dropped by more than 2,000 following the first set of early releases, for which those who had served 40% of their sentence were eligible.

Offenders imprisoned for serious violent offences with sentences of over four years were not released and neither were sex offenders. Nottinghamshire's police and crime commissioner (PCC), Gary Godden, confirmed that around 40 prisoners were released early in Nottinghamshire and that another set of early releases will be coming soon