Mayor faces backlash for saying Boris Johnson 'completely deserves' to struggle with coronavirus
A mayor from the Labor Party sparked fury by saying that the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson "completely deserves" his battle in intensive care after his coronavirus diagnosis. The mayor's statement comes at a time when the left-wing trolls are targeting the British leader with abuse on social media while he is in hospital.
Johnson was transferred to the ICU on the night of April 6 as his symptoms worsened after he was admitted to the hospital over the weekend. As the Prime Minister battles the deadly virus in the hospital, many of his critics have taken to social media to attack him, including Councillor Sheila Oake, the current Mayor of Heanor, Derbyshire. "Sorry he completely deserves this and he is one of the worst PMs we've ever had," Oak tweeted.
While another user @bibagirl wrote, "Poor Boris? No. Poor NHS. F*** that scruffy man." "Stormzy said f*** Boris and Corona did the rest," a social media user with the handle @Corby2209 wrote. While Miguel Suarez tweeted: "Boris Johnson in the ICU f*** yeah," the Daily Mail reported.
The UK premiere was transferred to ICU after he began facing breathing difficulties, forcing him to deputize Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to take the reins of government during the coronavirus crisis.
After noting the criticism on Twitter, 'Good Morning Britain' host Piers Morgan slammed social media users for celebrating Johnson being in the ICU. Morgan, in a furious tirade on his show on April 7 asked them to "just shut up".
"To those people on social media who can't find it in themselves to be positive for the Prime Minister right now, who want to abuse him – if you're of that mindset, just shut up," he said. "Nobody wants to hear this. Nobody wants to hear trolling against Boris Johnson. Just stop it. Honestly, it's beyond imagination that that should be your thought process. The man's fighting for his life."
The backlash from Morgan came after he waded into the row on Twitter saying, "If you have nothing positive to say about Boris Johnson on here tonight, then shut the f*** up. The man is our Prime Minister & he is fighting for his life."
Cabinet Office MInister Michael Gove, on April 7, said that the Prime Minister was getting the "best care".
"As we speak, the PM is in intensive care being looked after by his medical team receiving the very, very best care from the team in St Thomas's and our hopes and prayers are with him and with his family," he said.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer wished the Johnson well. In a tweet, he said, "Terribly sad news. All the country's thoughts are with the Prime Minister and his family during this incredibly difficult time."
Similarly, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that he was praying for Johnson's swift recovery. There were many on Twitter who used the hashtag #PrayForBoris to show support for him in this difficult time.
Coronavirus cases in the UK have crossed 52,000 while over 5,000 deaths have been recorded as of April 7.