Notts MP named Britain’s ‘worst man’ of 2021
ASHFIELD MP Lee Anderson has responded after The Mirror named him the worst man in Britain for 2021.
The paper handed Mr Anderson the award for his decision to not watch the England football team throughout the Euros tournament as a protest against the side taking the knee.
Piers Corbyn, Nick Clegg and Prince Andrew were all said to be close candidates, but The Mirror eventually settled on naming Lee Anderson as their “worst male specimen”.
The MP for Ashfield has since responded on his Facebook page, sarcastically thanking the Labour Party for giving him the award.
Mr Anderson wrote: “I won. Just found out that I won the Daily Mirror’s worst man in Britain award for 2021 due to my stance on taking the knee. There was some real stiff competition in the final but I managed to pip Piers Corbyn.
“I would like to thank my team, back room staff and the local Labour Party who made all this possible. Looking forward to working hard in 2022.”
The Mirror lamented Mr Anderson’s decision to protest against the England team who decided to “stand up to racism”.
He was handed the unwanted accolade as part of their REAL new year honours list.
Mr Anderson made his feelings about taking the knee clear back in June when he claimed that the side had made a big mistake in deciding to kneel before games kicked off.
In their end-of-year awards, Brian Reade of The Mirror said of Mr Anderson: “The worst male specimen had to be Tory MP Lee Anderson who spent the summer telling us he was refusing to watch his beloved England team because they had the gall to stand up to racism by taking the knee.”
The Ashfield MP disagreed with players taking the knee throughout the summer, saying in June: “The FA and the England football team have made a big mistake in supporting the taking of the knee before football matches ahead of the European Championships.
“The FA, Premier League and footballers now run the risk of becoming like the Labour Party and that is having nothing in common with their traditional supporters.
“All forms of racism are vile and should be stamped out – but this is not the way. For the first time in my life I will not be watching my beloved England team whilst they are supporting a political movement whose core principles aim to undermine our very way of life.”