Serial gatecrasher goes viral after turning up at authorities conferences to ‘stare and nod’
Andrew Edwards has become an online sensation after viewers spotted the sharply dressed ‘serial’ committee-goer nodding behind Sir Olly Robbins at a Commons hearing on the Lord Mandelson vetting row
Andrew Edwards is seen at the top corner left(Image: PRU/AFP via Getty Images)
Andrew Edwards has become an unlikely talking point in Westminster after viewers spotted him in the background of a major Commons hearing – and recognised him as a familiar face who has been turning up to public political events for years.
Edwards was clocked during a high-profile session of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee as Sir Olly Robbins gave evidence about the Lord Mandelson vetting row.. While MPs questioned the former senior civil servant, cameras repeatedly showed Edwards sitting behind him, nodding along, prompting jokes online comparing him to a “nodding dog”.
Edwards was filmed wearing a striped shirt, cravat and handkerchief.
“Who’s the chap doing a nodding dog impersonation behind Olly Robbins,” one person asked on social media.
Mr Edwards is not a government official. He is a town councillor and public speaking teacher who says he has been attending select committee hearings for around 20 years because they are open to the public. He is notable because of his distinctive, formal outfits, including cravats and striped shirts, which he says help him “look the part” in a room full of suits.
While it may have looked like a first appearance, Edwards says he’s been a familiar face at Westminster for years. He told the Telegraph: “I’ve been going to these hearings for the last 20 years.
“My raison d’etre is that these committees are open. You don’t have to book, you can just walk in and that includes the liaison committee where the Prime Minister appears.”
Edwards has also been filmed at other high-profile events, including an Alistair Campbell appearance at the Iraq Inquiry in 2010, and a Commons select committee scrutinising alleged BBC bias in 2025. He has attended the first meetings of Shabana Mahmood at the justice committee and Liz Kendall at the work and pensions committee too.
He said: “It’s the committee that does the hard work more than the House of Commons chamber so that is what I want to see. As we saw yesterday, the foreign affairs select committee can get stuck in to the machinations of high-level politics.
“It just enables me to be more confident when I speak to my friends about what is going on in Parliament.” A town councillor in Wiltshire who teaches public speaking, Edwards also told the Telegraph he regularly attends court hearings.
He said: “I saw Prince Harry at the High Court and he slouched and he had to be reminded by his counsel to sit up straight and focus on the answers. There are far too many people, same with Olly Robbins yesterday, who are slouching.
“Olly was slouching.” Asked about his distinctive style, Edwards, who lives in Islington, north London, said: “You can wear anything you like but because I’m going somewhere where everybody is dressed smartly, I want to make sure that I dress smartly.”
He added: “I was in Parliament. I looked the part, I looked like I should be there.”
Edwards said his political interest began at school in St Helens, Merseyside, where he was taught civics and taken to observe council meetings, the Telegraph reported. He also described a family background shaped by industry and activism, saying his father and grandfather were miners involved in the miners’ strikes.
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