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Viral Video Showing England's Chief Medical Officer Confronted in Public Is Condemned

The people shouted "oi oi" as they tried to grab Chris Whitty in a public park, in a video they seem to have filmed themselves.
Simon Childs
London, GB
Chris Whitty is accosted by two men who film the incident on a mobile phone.
Chris Whitty is accosted by two men who film the incident on a mobile phone. Screengrab: Social media

Police are investigating after video circulated of two people accosting Professor Chris Whitty, who as chief medical officer for England has been a leading figure in the UK’s pandemic response.

The footage, which was widely shared on social media, shows two men appearing to manhandle Whitty, who tries to get away. Whitty ducks under one of their arms as they shout “oi oi.” They then chase him saying, “One photo, one photo please?” and try to grab him again. A voice off camera is then heard asking the men to “leave the gentleman alone”.

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The Metropolitan Police said it is, “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,” the force’s official Twitter feed said.

Political condemnation of the video was swift.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I’m shocked at seeing the despicable harassment of Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty.

“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.”

Newly-appointed Health Secretary Sajid Javid said, “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. We will not tolerate this sort of behaviour towards our public servants. The men behaving in this disgraceful way should be ashamed.”

Vaccine minister Nadhim Zahaiw said, “This is disgusting and these thugs must be found and charged. Zero tolerance for harassing a public servant.”

Labour Party leader 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. The police are right to investigate this harassment.”

Whitty has come to public prominence during the coronavirus pandemic, appearing alongside Johnson in numerous public briefings.

Earlier this month he was accosted in the street by a man in Oxford who accused him of “lying to the public”. In February he was confronted by a young man who repeatedly said “you’re a liar ” to him on a London street. On both occasions the assailants filmed the incidents on their own phones.