Commons Leader tells MP to ‘check his behaviour’ over conspiracy claims

Penny Mordaunt accused Andrew Bridgen of promoting ‘outrageous conspiracy theories’.

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt listed a series of claims recently made and shared by Andrew Bridgen on social media and in the Commons (House of Common/PA) (PA Archive)

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt has scolded independent MP Andrew Bridgen for sharing “conspiracy theories” in the House of Commons.

North West Leicestershire MP Mr Bridgen raised concerns about the World Health Organisation (WHO), claiming it was “an unelected, unaccountable, discredited supra-national body which is hugely funded by the same people who fund big pharma”.

Ms Mordaunt listed a series of claims recently made and shared by Mr Bridgen on social media and in the Commons, telling him to “check his behaviour”.

The exchange at Business Questions follows a similar rebuke from Ms Mordaunt last week, in which she said she pitied Mr Bridgen if he believed the claims he was making.

Mr Bridgen told the Commons he was concerned about “proposed changes to the WHO international health regulations which will not require a vote” from Parliament to be approved.

He asked: “Can we urgently have a Government statement on these proposed changes which could look set to hand over huge powers to an unelected, unaccountable, discredited supra-national body which is hugely funded by the same people who fund big pharma?”

Commons Leader Ms Mordaunt replied: “I think it is incredibly important that we have the facts of whether it is such treaties, whether it is facts about vaccines and so forth out in the public domain.

These are outrageous conspiracy theories that he is promoting on his social media and more frequently on the floor of this House, and I would urge him to check his behaviour

Penny Mordaunt

“I would just again caution him, who this week has been inviting us to join the dots, promoting that Anthony Fauci has created Covid in the United States and then offshored that operation to Wuhan, and in the previous session prior to this Business Questions in Defra, is starting a new campaign to tell the public that this Government and its international network of World Economic Forum stooges are encouraging everyone to eat insects.”

To cheers from MPs, she added: “These are outrageous conspiracy theories that he is promoting on his social media and more frequently on the floor of this House, and I would urge him to check his behaviour.”

Earlier during the day at environment questions, Mr Bridgen had raised concerns about insect protein “increasingly being pushed on social media as an alternative food despite concerns over contaminations”.

Environment minister Mark Spencer said all novel food was “assessed before it is allowed to be placed onto the UK market”.

He added: “Food derived from or including insect protein must be properly labelled, with ingredients clearly indicated and any warning such as the presence of allergens included on the label.”

Mr Bridgen had the Conservative whip suspended in January after comparing the Covid-19 vaccines rollout to the Holocaust on social media.