Lee Anderson’s wife is suspended from the Tories after a photo shows her at the “Reform UK” campaign

The wife of Lee Anderson, a Conservative councillor, was suspended from the party after she was seen in a photograph apparently showing her campaigning for her husband’s rival party, Reform UK.

The Tories have launched an investigation after the Ashfield MP posted the image on Twitter/X showing Sinead Anderson with her husband in a group of people campaigning for reforms in Selston.

A Tory spokesman said: “Ms Anderson has been suspended pending an investigation. The Conservative Party has a robust complaints procedure.

“This procedure is rightly confidential so that complainants can express themselves in confidence.”

In response to a request for comment by the Sunday Mirrorwhich first reported the story, Mr Anderson reportedly asked, “How do you know it’s her?”

If Ms Anderson, a senior member of Nottinghamshire County Council, is found to have campaigned for a rival party, this would be a breach of party rules.

Ms Anderson was asked for comment.

Mr Anderson was suspended from the Conservative Party after he said in a television appearance: UK News that London’s Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan is controlled by “Islamists”.

The Tory MP refused to apologise for his comments and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak refused to label them racist.

Following the comments, Sir Keir Starmer said the Prime Minister lacked the “backbone to denounce Islamophobia”. The Prime Minister denied that the Conservative Party had “Islamophobic tendencies”.

The former deputy leader of the Tories, who is now the only MP from the Reform Party after leaving the Conservative Party due to the loss of party discipline, announced a non-aggression pact with a number of former party colleagues.

A series of surprising polls suggest that the Tories are facing defeat in elections due to be held later this year.

Recent polls show Anderson’s new party, Reform, trailing the Conservatives by just a few percentage points. At the same time, there are fears that the right-wing populist party could make further gains if Nigel Farage takes on a more prominent role.

While the party is unlikely to win any seats, in certain areas it may need enough votes to give Labour victory.

Mr Anderson has now stated that he will avoid campaigning in certain Tory constituencies due to his friendships with Ben Bradley (Mansfield), Brendan Clarke-Smith (Bassetlaw), Marco Longhi (Dudley North) and Nick Fletcher (Don Valley).

The move led to calls for Rishi Sunak to expel Mr Fletcher from the party after the MP took to social media to describe Mr Anderson as Ashfield’s “biggest champion”, adding that he must be back in Westminster after the election. It is believed Mr Fletcher was approached by Government party leader Simon Hart over the post on Twitter/X.