Lee Anderson's parliamentary aide attended £33,000-a-year private school trends now
The parliamentary researcher who was caught in the eye of a social media storm today after a Tory MP tweeted out her salary details is an alumna of an £33,000-a-year private school whose father served with distinction in the Armed forces.
Blunt-talking backbencher Lee Anderson MP was left facing a House of Commons probe after he shared an image of Katy Colthup, one of his parliamentary staffers, on his Twitter feed today and championed the fact she didn't need to use a food bank despite earning less than £30,000 a year.
Ms Colthup, who read politics at the University of Nottingham, previously attended the fee-paying St Peter's School in York, where tuition starts at £11,310 per term for boarding pupils.
Her father, Brigadier David Colthup CBE, was a decorated senior leader within the British Army whose 34 years of service included combat operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Afghanistan.
Lee Anderson MP shared a picture of Katy Colthup, a parliamentary researcher, and detailed her personal circumstances, saying she did not need to use a food bank, to his 46,000 Twitter followers
Katy's father is Brigadier David Colthup CBE (above, together) a senior member of the Armed Forces who was commissioned into the historic Green Howards Yorkshire Regiment in 1989
In a tweet shared today, Mr Anderson, who earns £84,000 as an MP, shared how much his parliamentary researcher Ms Colthup budgets each month.
He tweeted: 'Katy works for me. She is single and earns less than 30k, rents a room for £775pcm in central London, has student debt, £120 a month on travelling to work, saves money every month, goes on foreign holidays and does not need to use a foodbank.
'Katy makes my point really well'.
But his tweet was met with backlash as swathes of social media users hit out at the tone of his message, as the hashtag 'Poor Katy' started trending on Twitter.
Ms Colthup joined Mr Anderson's office last summer having previously worked as an intern for Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton.
Her father, Brig David Colthup CBE, was a senior member of the Armed Forces who was commissioned into the historic Green Howards Yorkshire Regiment in 1989.
An alumnus of the esteemed Sandhurst Military Academy, Brig Colthup served across the world for over three decades, including combat operations in tours of Afghanistan, Bosnia and the first Gulf War.
He was most recently the Director of Operations for all Army recruiting and initial training.
In December, Brig Colthup was appointed as York Minster's new Chapter Steward and chief operating officer.
He was awarded a CBE in the 2023 New Year Honours List and serves as a trustee for The Green Howards Trust.
Her mother, Jane Colthup, is the chief executive of Community First Yorkshire - a charity working across the region for a range of rural causes.
Ms Colthup, who read politics at the University of Nottingham, previously attended the fee-paying St Peter's School in York, where tuition starts at £11,310 per term for boarding pupils
Her mother, Jane Colthup (above), is the chief executive of Community First Yorkshire - a charity working across the region for a range of rural causes
The couple also share a son, Tom Colthup, who is following in his father's footsteps and serves as a Reconnaissance Platoon Commander with the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment.
MPs turned on Mr Anderson today after he was accused of 'a form of bullying and harassment' by tweeting the personal details of his young staffer.
Labour MP Dawn Butler wrote online: 'Whether Katy agreed to this, it is unacceptable to use a young female employee this way.
'I will also be writing to the House of Commons authorities to stress that this is a very dangerous political strategy.'
The blunt-talking Ashfield MP, who has been dubbed '30p Lee' for comments made last summer suggesting families could cook fresh meals for less than £1, regularly takes to his 46,000 Twitter followers to double down on his claims.
Blunt-talking Tory backbencher Lee Anderson MP sparked a social media storm today after wading into a row on food banks and budgeting by tweeting out a member of staff's personal information and salary details
The Ashfield MP, pictured above with PM Rishi Sunak, was widely condemned last summer for 'cruel' and 'crass' comments he made in the House of Commons after suggesting struggling Brits are only using food banks because they 'can't budget' or cook a meal from scratch
Mr Anderson's tweet was met with backlash as swathes of social media users hit out at the tone of his message, as the hashtag 'Poor Katy' started trending on Twitter.
Jamie Stone, Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, said Mr Anderson's tweet
