The actor, who has died aged 98, was a regular visitor to parliament, attending several annual dinners of the all-party Parliamentary Group on Historic Vehicles, twice as a guest speaker. His despatch box performance – sadly witnessed by only a handful of MPs – came when he was given a tour of parliament in 2011 by the group’s chairman, Conservative MP Sir Greg Knight. “Leslie was a classic car enthusiast, ever since he made a film called The Fast Lady in 1962, which was about a vintage Bentley,” Sir Greg, a former minister under Margaret Thatcher, Sir John Major and David Cameron. he told Sky News. In the film, a comedy also starring Stanley Baxter, James Robertson-Justice and – in her first starring role – Julie Christie, Leslie played a used car salesman who sold the 1927 Bentley, a British green model, to the ill-fated character who played from Baxter. “Leslie came to Parliament several times,” revealed Sir Greg. “He was passionate about vintage cars. The car in The Fast Lady is probably worth £500,000 now. After filming finished, he was offered it for £500 but he turned it down. “He told us he’s been kicking himself ever since. He had a classic car himself, a Mercedes, but he always regretted not buying the Bentley.” Of Leslie’s politics, Sir Greg said: “I think he was a Conservative, but not particularly active. He liked politics and parliament. I gave him a tour and he said he was delighted to be at the heart of the political establishment. “He stood at the dispatch box in the House of Commons and said: ‘This is great. He makes you proud to be British”. He was a true patriot.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:17 Leslie Phillips in Doctor In Clover As well as Sir Greg, members of parliament’s Historic Vehicles Group include senior Tory MPs Sir John Hayes and Sir Robert Goodwill, Labor whip Mark Tami and Conservative peer Lord Kirkhope. Sir Greg recalls that as well as attending team dinners, Leslie loved to drink champagne in Parliament’s elegant Pugin Room overlooking the River Thames, but in his conversations with MPs he insisted he was not the cad figure or the comedian who acted in films. “Unless someone mentioned Julie Christie, with whom he starred in The Fast Lady,” added Sir Greg. “When Julie Christie was brought up, he couldn’t resist saying his famous line: ‘Ding, dong!’”