Lee Anderson: Ashfield MP called 'moron' by council leader

Mr Anderson said it was important to stay professional

An MP has lodged a formal complaint after he was called a "moron" by a district council leader during a private meeting.

Lee Anderson, Conservative MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, told Ashfield District Council the remark was "totally unacceptable".

Leader Jason Zadrozny, from Ashfield Independents, admitted making the comment at the meeting last week.

He apologised for using "that sort of language".

Jason Zadrozny, the Ashfield District Council's leader, admitted making the comment last week

The authority's cross-party local plan working group had been discussing a document setting out where large housing developments should be built in the district.

The plan has been met with a furious backlash from numerous resident groups over proposals for thousands of homes on greenbelt and greenfield sites, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

During the meeting, members of the group were discussing bringing in Mr Anderson and Sherwood MP Mark Spencer, who is also the government's chief whip, to help with the plan.

This prompted Mr Zadrozny to say: "I'm not working with that... moron."

Mr Anderson was not at the meeting but was made aware of the remark afterwards.

He has since lodged a complaint to the council's monitoring officer.

'Let myself down'

The MP said he believed Mr Zadrozny breached three parts of the council's code of conduct, including showing a "lack of respect", using "offensive language", and not "leading by example".

Mr Anderson said he appreciated Mr Zadrozny had been having some difficulties getting the local plan together and was under a lot of pressure.

He added: "But that said, my door is always open and I'm sure he didn't mean what he said.

"In politics, you should remain professional at all times. I look forward to his apology."

Mr Zadrozny said: "It was a private, closed meeting and we were talking about getting him and Mark Spencer in, that's when I said it.

"I probably shouldn't have used that sort of language and I apologise, I let myself down more than anything else."