POLITICAL commentator Toby Young has been branded “heartless” after claiming spending cash on saving elderly people from the coronavirus pandemic is “irresponsible”.

Writing in The Critic Mag, Young was critical of the UK Government’s willingness to spend cash to limit the effects of the outbreak.

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Young wrote: “Like a growing number of people, I’m beginning to suspect the Government has overreacted to the coronavirus crisis. I’m not talking about the cost to our liberty, although that’s worrying, but the economic cost.

“Even if we accept the statistical modelling of Dr Neil Ferguson’s team at Imperial College, which I’ll come to in a minute, spending £350 billion to prolong the lives of a few hundred thousand mostly elderly people is an irresponsible use of taxpayer’s money.”

People reacted furiously to the comments on social media.

Journalist and National columnist Ruth Wishart was scathing, writing: “I daresay most sentient beings believe Toby Young is heartless, waste of space. So you do wonder why he feels it necessary to keep proving it.”

Byline Times editor Peter Jukes warned Young’s views could be “outright deadly” in this time of crisis.

He posted: “In normal times the far right eugenicist views of people like Toby Young are just shameful and embarrassing. During a pandemic they can be outright deadly.”

And author Darren McGarvey suggested Young’s views were not so different to the concept of austerity. He wrote: “Was austerity not basically letting people die to save the economy? Have we not tried Toby Young's idea already?”

In the article, which was accompanied by an extensive Twitter thread, Young echoed the US President by making the case for stopping the lockdown ahead of April 14 – the day after Easter Monday.

Responding to suggestions he would change his mind if he contracted Covid-19 himself, Young said he thought he already had the virus.

He added: “If the Government does end the lockdown, and it turns out that by the time I require critical care the NHS cannot accommodate me, I won’t regret writing this.”

He said he viewed his own death as “acceptable collateral damage” to prevent GDP dropping significantly and damaging more lives in the long-term.

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