SAJID Javid has come under fire for mocking Scotland's Covid rates and telling an SNP doctor that she "should know better" when questioning him about Covid-19.
The new Tory Health Secretary was responding to questions from MPs last night as the UK Government set out its plans to remove all legal Covid restrictions in England from July 19.
The SNP health spokesperson Dr Philippa Whitford MP - who spent 18 years as a consultant breast surgeon - said she was "surprised" in the UK Government's decision to open up society, saying that the pandemic is "very far from over”.
The Central Ayrshire MP (above) said that the new Delta variant of the virus is affecting younger age groups and is less susceptible to vaccines, adding that numbers of cases are rising with many in the UK not fully vaccinated.
Whitford continued: "The UK Government's failure to lock down last September allowed the Alpha variant to emerge in the southeast of England and spread across the UK and indeed the rest of the world.
"So if the Health Secretary is going to just let it rip, how does he plan to avoid generating yet another UK variant with even greater vaccine resistance?"
She said that Javid has "returned to the false narrative" of Covid being similar to flu and said that he is "completely ignoring" the risk of Long Covid that is already affecting more than a million people, including children.
READ MORE: Sajid Javid says UK Covid-19 cases could hit 100,000 a day within weeks
Whitford added: "How does he plan to avoid soaring cases of Long Covid in unvaccinated young adults and children? Does he consider them to be collateral damage or just a price worth paying?"
Javid, a former banker with no professional medical experience, said Whitford "started off well" but her points "degenerated into political point-scoring".
He continued: "She should know much better than to engage in scare-mongering of the Scottish, of the British people.
"If anything, the only part of the UK where cases could be described as ripping would be in Scotland, where the case rate is higher than any other part of the UK, in fact I think they have seven of the 10 highest hot spots in terms of number of cases throughout Europe. [She] should reflect on that."
After the exchange, Whitford - who was seen to be shaking her head during Javid's response - had to "walk it off" saying she "wasn't at all calm".
Wasn’t at all calm - had to go and walk it off later! Have already been in touch with Neale to thank him @JNHanvey
— Dr Philippa Whitford (@Dr_PhilippaW) July 5, 2021
After 17/12 of Hancock being so rude, patronising & dismissive I mistakenly expected at least a modicum of civility from Javid - guess Hancock left him a note! https://t.co/BbqLoqXKuf
Former SNP-turned Alba MP Neale Hanvey (below) later in proceedings told Javid to apologise for his "outrageous comments" he made to Whitford.
READ MORE: Dr Elly Gaunt: Tories are gambling kids' health with a chickenpox-style Covid party
Hanvey said: "All of the warm words from the Secretary of State at the top of his statement have been completely demolished by his attitude towards a breast cancer surgeon when he says that she 'should know better', when the reality is that she does know better.
"He should apologise to [Whitford] for those absolutely outrageous comments.
"To use the escalation of cases in Scotland as a political tool is absolutely disgraceful."
Javid responded that he does "not agree with" Hanvey.
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