Chris Whitty: ‘Disgusting’ harassment of chief medical officer in park condemned by MPs

Health secretary brands incident ‘appalling and totally unacceptable’

MPs have condemned the "appalling" behaviour of two men who harassed Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, in a London park on Monday.

Video posted to social media shows two men grabbing Prof Whitty and holding onto him as he walks through St James' Park in the capital.

The pair can be heard shouting "oi oi" and "one photo please" as Prof Whitty, who has been at the forefront of the government's response to the Covid pandemic, attempts to get free.

As Prof Whitty tries to walk away, the two men can be seen attempting to grab him again before a voice is heard saying "leave the gentleman alone". A line of police vans is visible in the background.

The incident has been widely condemned by members of the public and politicians, with health secretary Sajid Javid saying the men "should be ashamed" of themselves.

"I've seen the video of the CMO being harassed. It's appalling and totally unacceptable. The CMO works tirelessly on behalf of the country," he said.

"We will not tolerate this sort of behaviour towards our public servants. The men behaving in this disgraceful way should be ashamed."

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour's shadow health secretary, also criticised the behaviour of the two men and thanked Prof Whitty for his service during the pandemic.

"Appalling behaviour from idiot thugs," he said. "Solidarity & full support to @CMO_England who is an exceptional, dedicated public servant. The nation is lucky to have him."

The Metropolitan Police said those involved in the incident had been spoken to at the time and officers were investigating the incident further.

A number of other MPs were swift to condemn those involved, with some calling for police protection for key scientific advisers during the pandemic.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said: "This is disgusting and these thugs must be found and charged. Zero tolerance for harassing a public servant."

Jess Phillips, the Labour MP and shadow domestic violence minister, said Prof Whitty had been made to feel "awful and uncomfortable" and issued a reminder that public figures "are human beings".

"Even if you perceive it as non violent it is clear that he felt awful and uncomfortable and resisted," Ms Phillips said.

"Public figures are not dolls, they are human beings, it is stunning how easily this is forgotten."

It is not the first time that Prof Whitty or other senior officials have faced harassment. In footage shared online in February, Prof Whitty was harassed by Covid conspiracy theorists in Westminster, central London.

Last week Jonathan Van-Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer, was verbally abused by an anti-lockdown protester as he walked into a government building by a protester.