Lee Anderson has reacted to a report Essex County Council paid a comedian ￡500k (Image: Getty)
Lee Anderson has mocked a social media prankster after it emerged he was paid almost ￡500,000 by a council to run a Facebook group during the pandemic. The Ashfield MP accused comedian Simon Harris of trolling him for the last year and took some delight in telling his followers on X about the six-figure sum the Essex local received for his work.
Accounts show Essex County Council paid Mr Harris ￡493,000 for work as a contractor during the Covid pandemic, mainly to run a Facebook group and act as a consultant. It has not been possible to reach Mr Harris for comment. Essex County Council said its work with the campaigner helped get important messages across and to tackle misinformation about Covid.
Mr Anderson posted on X in response: "A Southend comedian received almost ￡500,000 over the course of three years for "community engagement" during the pandemic that primarily included running a Facebook page.
"Essex County Council paid the comedian and campaigner Simon Harris a six-figure sum for his work as a contractor during the coronavirus pandemic.
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"Oh dear... Is this the same Simon Harris who has been trolling me on social media for the past year? Sending my best wishes to Simon at this difficult time."
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Simon Harris was paid almost ￡500,000 by Essex County Council (Image: Simon Harris/@man.behaving.dadly/Instagram)
Mr Harris, 40, runs the spoof Southend News Network and has raised thousands of pounds for children fleeing Ukraine, the RNLI as well as other charities, according to Essex Live.
Essex County Council's day-to-day spending breakdown reveals 34 payments to Mr Harris between June 4, 2020, and April 24, 2023, totalling ￡493,000. The amounts vary from ￡500 on May 19, 2021, to ￡100,000 on August 11, 2021.
The council said it is important it communicates with residents via the channels which people use; that there are clear governance policies in place to manage conflicts of interest, and procedures are in place to make sure public funds are spent appropriately and provide value for money.
Mr Harris was involved with the Essex Coronavirus Action (ECVA) community campaign set up on social media by Essex. It was initially intended to help people access reliable information on Covid, the vaccine and lockdowns.
ECVA featured a Facebook page and online community group set up "in response to a rise in misinformation across local social media", according to council documents.
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Lee Anderson accuses Simon Harris of trolling him online (Image: X/Lee Anderson MP)
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ECC confirmed Mr Harris was a contractor using social media channels to support the council’s work to help communities before the pandemic.
Essex said during the pandemic, and "given the nature of the national emergency which the council was faced with", Mr Harris shared "valuable" information on restrictions, support schemes for the "vulnerable" and volunteering opportunities from 2020-22.
The council said its work with Mr Harris meant it could reach a much more people than would otherwise have been possible.
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An Essex County Council spokesperson said: "The engagement levels the council achieved through ECVA (Essex Coronavirus Action) and other social media channels managed by Simon Harris during the pandemic period were far in excess of what the council would usually have expected during a 'normal' period of operation.
"It is important to note the payments covered more than just social media content and included activity to directly support others doing similar work across the county. Such payments were also made through Simon Harris for expediency."
The spokesperson added that the approach adopted by the council has been peer-reviewed and was found to have been effective by an independent report.
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