LONDON: The Prime Minister has condemned “thugs” who accosted England’s chief medical officer.
Boris Johnson hit out after a video posted online appeared to show Professor Chris Whitty being harassed in a central London park.
“I’m shocked at seeing the despicable harassment of chief medical officer Chris Whitty,” Johnson said. “I condemn the behaviour of these thugs. Our hard-working public servants should not have to face this kind of intimidation on our streets and we will not tolerate it.”
The Metropolitan Police are investigating after the footage, lasting around 20 seconds and apparently taken in St James’s Park, was shared on social media.
It shows two grinning men grabbing Prof Whitty as they shout “Oi oi” and say “One photo please?” As Prof Whitty attempts to walk away, the men grab him again. With a line of police vans visible in the background, a voice is heard saying “leave the gentleman alone” before the clip ends.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was “just horrified” by the incident and that officials are looking at support available to Prof Whitty. Asked if he needs security measures, she told Times Radio: “I can’t speak about that but it’s important that we make sure that Chris is given the right kind of support.”
Health Secretary Sajid Javid also condemned the behavior: “It’s appalling and totally unacceptable. The CMO works tirelessly on behalf of the country. We will not tolerate this sort of behaviour towards our public servants. The men behaving in this disgraceful way should be ashamed.”
The Met tweeted: “We are aware of a video being shared online showing an incident in St James’s Park. Officers spoke to all those involved at the time and their details were taken. We are in contact with the victim and the circumstances continue to be investigated.”
A number of other MPs were swift to condemn those involved in the latest incident. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “This is disgusting behaviour. Chris Whitty is a dedicated public servant who has worked tirelessly to help get us through this crisis.” Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted: “This is disgusting and these thugs must be found and charged. Zero tolerance for harassing a public servant.” Schools minister Nick Gibb described those responsible as “yobbos”, telling LBC that Prof Whitty has been a “first-class chief medical officer throughout the pandemic, providing very high-quality advice to Government, providing very calm advice to the public in those press conferences”.
Labour MP Jess Phillips said Prof Whitty had been made to feel “awful and uncomfortable” and issued a reminder that public figures “are human beings”.
It is not the first time Prof Whitty has been forced to endure public harassment. Earlier this month, he was confronted in a street in Oxford by a man accusing him of lying to the public about coronavirus, while in February a man accosted the chief medical officer outside Westminster.