Lee Anderson given standing ovation at Tory fundraiser after Liz Truss hug

Lee Anderson attended a Conservative fundraiser with Liz Truss where she greeted him with a hug and the words “who is this de-whipped Tory?”, reports suggest.

The former Tory deputy chairman, who has been suspended as a Tory MP, is said to have been given a standing ovation by those in attendance.

Labour said the news “beggars belief”.

A report in the Daily Express suggested Mr Anderson was at a dinner to raise money for Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith on Friday.

The newspaper published a photo which it says showed Mr Anderson, Ms Truss and Mr Clarke-Smith posing together at the fundraiser.

Labour has urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to ban Mr Anderson from raising funds for the Tories while he is without the partyAshfield MP Mr Anderson was stripped of the Tory whip last weekend after he accused Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, of being controlled by Islamists.