Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson is being investigated after he used a parliamentary rooftop to film a promotion video for his £100,000-a-year GB News show.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, announced on Monday that he launched a probe into whether the controversial Ashfield MP broke the MPs’ code of conduct.
The potential breach is being investigated under paragraph 8, which states: “Excepting modest and reasonable personal use, Members must ensure that the use of facilities and services provided to them by Parliament, including an office, is in support of their parliamentary activities, and is in accordance with all relevant rules.”
Using Parliament Square and Whitehall as the backdrop, Mr Anderson asked viewers to get in touch with their problems for a chance to appear on his weekly show.
Reacting to the clip at the time of its publication, a House of Commons spokesperson said: “Unauthorised photography or filming is not permitted on the parliamentary estate.
“Where it is seen or reported to be happening, the individual in question will be asked to stop and reminded of the rules.”
They said the Serjeant at Arms, who is responsible for upholding order in the Commons, would be contacting Mr Anderson over the Twitter video.
Lee Anderson’s Real World was first aired last month, making him the latest in a string of Tory MPs to host a GB News programme – joining his colleagues Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey and Philip Davies.
A former Labour councillor before joining the Tories, Mr Anderson has been no stranger to controversy since being elected to Westminster in 2019, having called for the return of the death penalty and claiming people on universal credit were not in poverty.
