If there's one politician I have written about more than any other since I started this job, it is unquestionably the Ashfield MP Lee Anderson. As an elected representative on our patch, he's a man who I would have expected to frequently report on anyway.

Recent weeks though have seen me put finger to keyboard about Mr Anderson for something that may seem trivial on the face of it - he keeps picking fights with us. This week, he's ramped it up a gear and the reason it is far from trivial is because of the dangerous attitude Mr Anderson is fomenting against journalists and the scrutiny of politicians in general.

The MP is actually on holiday with his two sons at the moment and he said that he wouldn't be posting on Facebook again until June 2, when he was back in Blighty. Yet our reporting seems to have roused him from his deckchair.

The spur for Mr Anderson's attack was a story we published on Thursday (May 29) which stated the estimated cost of the Newark West county council by-election. We would not usually cover the cost of a by-election as they are certainly not a rarity in British politics.

Yet this one was different given that it was called after one of Reform's brand new councillors stepped down - just six days into the role. Little was given in the way of explanation and the unusual circumstances led us to ask for an estimated cost........

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