Lee Anderson, the new deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, has clashed with a local radio presenter over accusations of dishonesty.
Speaking to BBC radio presenter Verity Cowley about a video of him setting up a doorstep encounter during the 2019 election campaign, he pleaded with her not to play the clip.
He then went on to ask the presenter 10 times if she had ever told a lie.
In 2019, Anderson, while out with journalist Michael Crick, took a phone call on the campaign trail.
The MP returns to Crick to say the call related to a number of leaflets that had arrived at his house.
But a microphone picks up Anderson telling a voter not to tell the film crew he is a friend when they knock on his door.
Questing the new deputy Tory Party chairman, Cowley said: “There is a worry by some that you might be a bit dishonest.
“I’m talking about that video that you did where you asked a friend to pose as an anti-Labour swing voter.”
Mr Anderson then asks Cowley if she has ever told a lie a number of times.
“I’ve never asked somebody to pretend to be something they’re not just to further my campaign,” Cowley adds.
Cowley then says humans tell false truths to protect people.
“So you’re a liar, so you’re dishonest,” Mr Anderson replies.
“We’ve established you’re dishonest and you tell lies.
“Let’s talk about that video because three weeks afterwards, I was voted in as the first-ever Conservative MP [in Ashfield], beating Labour by 8,000 votes.
“So that’s what the people of Ashfield think and that’s all that matters to me.”
Elsewhere, The Spectator has published an interview with Anderson in which he expresses support for reintroducing the death penalty arguing “nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed”.
He says the death penalty could be acceptable in cases where the perpetrators are clearly identified.
Parliament suspended the death penalty in 1965, other than in Northern Ireland, before later abolishing it completely across the UK.
Related: Lee Anderson challenges Steve Bray to a boxing match
