British Prime Minister Boris Johnson repeatedly refused to look at a photo of a four-year-old boy who was forced to lie on the floor of a hospital due to a bed shortage. (Photo: Twitter/Screengrab)
Dec 09, 2019
With the U.K. general election just two days away, more than 10 million people have watched a video of Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson refusing to look at a photo of a four-year-old boy who--due to a shortage of beds--was forced to lie on a hospital floor as he awaited treatment for suspected pneumonia.
"The NHS has to be properly funded, and at the moment it isn't."
--Jeremy Corbyn, U.K. Labour Leader
During an interview on Monday, Joe Pike, a political correspondent with ITV News, attempted to show Johnson a picture of the boy on his cell phone, but the prime minister repeatedly refused to look and at one point grabbed Pike's phone and put it in his pocket.
"I'll study it later," Johnson said.
Noting that the clip of the interview has more than 10 million views, Guardian columnist and Labour supporter Owen Jones said "that means millions of people still have not seen the horrific lack of empathy Boris Johnson has towards a 4 year old victim of his policies."
"You know what to do," Jones added.
Watch:
\u201cThis is absolutely incredible.\n\nA journalist confronts @BorisJohnson with a picture of a 4 year old with suspected pneumonia forced to lie on coats in a Leeds hospital.\n\nJohnson just grabs his phone and puts it in his pocket.\n\nEveryone needs to see this.\u201d— Owen Jones (@Owen Jones) 1575898994
The photo of Jack Williment-Barr was originally published Sunday by TheDaily Mirror.
\u201cOne of the richest countries in the world and we have a sick child on the floor of a hospital because there aren't enough beds.\nThis is what 10 years of Tory cuts have done to our NHS.\nIf you don't think this is good enough, Vote Labour on Thursday. https://t.co/PyIhuWYq3U\u201d— The Labour Party (@The Labour Party) 1575889140
Sarah Williment, Jack's mother, told the Mirror that she plans to switch her vote from Conservative to Labour for the first time in Thursday's election, which Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn has characterized as a life-or-death moment for the NHS.
"This will the first time in my life where I will be voting Labour," Sarah said. "I would like to thank the doctors and the nurses and the health care assistants because they were really good, really helpful. But I'm angry at the lack of funding and the lack of beds because I think that is failing our children."
Corbyn said the hospital incident is an "awful" example of the consequences of Conservative cuts to NHS funding.
"I think it has to be a political decision whether we have an NHS, how it's funded, and what political parties decide they're going to do with it if they gain a majority in the next parliament," Corbyn told the BBC. "And the NHS has to be properly funded, and at the moment it isn't."
The Labour Party accused the Tories of attempting to distract the British public from Johnson's refusal to look at the photo by falsely claiming a Conservative aide was "punched" outside the hospital by a Labour activist.
"Refusing to look at a photo will not help our NHS," Corbyn tweeted Monday. "Inventing fake stories to distract people will not help our NHS. Voting Conservative this Thursday will not help our NHS."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
With the U.K. general election just two days away, more than 10 million people have watched a video of Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson refusing to look at a photo of a four-year-old boy who--due to a shortage of beds--was forced to lie on a hospital floor as he awaited treatment for suspected pneumonia.
"The NHS has to be properly funded, and at the moment it isn't."
--Jeremy Corbyn, U.K. Labour Leader
During an interview on Monday, Joe Pike, a political correspondent with ITV News, attempted to show Johnson a picture of the boy on his cell phone, but the prime minister repeatedly refused to look and at one point grabbed Pike's phone and put it in his pocket.
"I'll study it later," Johnson said.
Noting that the clip of the interview has more than 10 million views, Guardian columnist and Labour supporter Owen Jones said "that means millions of people still have not seen the horrific lack of empathy Boris Johnson has towards a 4 year old victim of his policies."
"You know what to do," Jones added.
Watch:
\u201cThis is absolutely incredible.\n\nA journalist confronts @BorisJohnson with a picture of a 4 year old with suspected pneumonia forced to lie on coats in a Leeds hospital.\n\nJohnson just grabs his phone and puts it in his pocket.\n\nEveryone needs to see this.\u201d— Owen Jones (@Owen Jones) 1575898994
The photo of Jack Williment-Barr was originally published Sunday by TheDaily Mirror.
\u201cOne of the richest countries in the world and we have a sick child on the floor of a hospital because there aren't enough beds.\nThis is what 10 years of Tory cuts have done to our NHS.\nIf you don't think this is good enough, Vote Labour on Thursday. https://t.co/PyIhuWYq3U\u201d— The Labour Party (@The Labour Party) 1575889140
Sarah Williment, Jack's mother, told the Mirror that she plans to switch her vote from Conservative to Labour for the first time in Thursday's election, which Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn has characterized as a life-or-death moment for the NHS.
"This will the first time in my life where I will be voting Labour," Sarah said. "I would like to thank the doctors and the nurses and the health care assistants because they were really good, really helpful. But I'm angry at the lack of funding and the lack of beds because I think that is failing our children."
Corbyn said the hospital incident is an "awful" example of the consequences of Conservative cuts to NHS funding.
"I think it has to be a political decision whether we have an NHS, how it's funded, and what political parties decide they're going to do with it if they gain a majority in the next parliament," Corbyn told the BBC. "And the NHS has to be properly funded, and at the moment it isn't."
The Labour Party accused the Tories of attempting to distract the British public from Johnson's refusal to look at the photo by falsely claiming a Conservative aide was "punched" outside the hospital by a Labour activist.
"Refusing to look at a photo will not help our NHS," Corbyn tweeted Monday. "Inventing fake stories to distract people will not help our NHS. Voting Conservative this Thursday will not help our NHS."
With the U.K. general election just two days away, more than 10 million people have watched a video of Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson refusing to look at a photo of a four-year-old boy who--due to a shortage of beds--was forced to lie on a hospital floor as he awaited treatment for suspected pneumonia.
"The NHS has to be properly funded, and at the moment it isn't."
--Jeremy Corbyn, U.K. Labour Leader
During an interview on Monday, Joe Pike, a political correspondent with ITV News, attempted to show Johnson a picture of the boy on his cell phone, but the prime minister repeatedly refused to look and at one point grabbed Pike's phone and put it in his pocket.
"I'll study it later," Johnson said.
Noting that the clip of the interview has more than 10 million views, Guardian columnist and Labour supporter Owen Jones said "that means millions of people still have not seen the horrific lack of empathy Boris Johnson has towards a 4 year old victim of his policies."
"You know what to do," Jones added.
Watch:
\u201cThis is absolutely incredible.\n\nA journalist confronts @BorisJohnson with a picture of a 4 year old with suspected pneumonia forced to lie on coats in a Leeds hospital.\n\nJohnson just grabs his phone and puts it in his pocket.\n\nEveryone needs to see this.\u201d— Owen Jones (@Owen Jones) 1575898994
The photo of Jack Williment-Barr was originally published Sunday by TheDaily Mirror.
\u201cOne of the richest countries in the world and we have a sick child on the floor of a hospital because there aren't enough beds.\nThis is what 10 years of Tory cuts have done to our NHS.\nIf you don't think this is good enough, Vote Labour on Thursday. https://t.co/PyIhuWYq3U\u201d— The Labour Party (@The Labour Party) 1575889140
Sarah Williment, Jack's mother, told the Mirror that she plans to switch her vote from Conservative to Labour for the first time in Thursday's election, which Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn has characterized as a life-or-death moment for the NHS.
"This will the first time in my life where I will be voting Labour," Sarah said. "I would like to thank the doctors and the nurses and the health care assistants because they were really good, really helpful. But I'm angry at the lack of funding and the lack of beds because I think that is failing our children."
Corbyn said the hospital incident is an "awful" example of the consequences of Conservative cuts to NHS funding.
"I think it has to be a political decision whether we have an NHS, how it's funded, and what political parties decide they're going to do with it if they gain a majority in the next parliament," Corbyn told the BBC. "And the NHS has to be properly funded, and at the moment it isn't."
The Labour Party accused the Tories of attempting to distract the British public from Johnson's refusal to look at the photo by falsely claiming a Conservative aide was "punched" outside the hospital by a Labour activist.
"Refusing to look at a photo will not help our NHS," Corbyn tweeted Monday. "Inventing fake stories to distract people will not help our NHS. Voting Conservative this Thursday will not help our NHS."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.