Labour’s Wes Streeting caught on mic calling Jeremy Corbyn ‘senile’ this is an insult to the millions of dementia sufferers and their families.
Starmer’s Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care: Wes Streeting forced to apologise after Disgracefully calling Jeremy Corbyn ‘senile’ in Commons
Labour frontbencher and acting Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting has apologised for calling Jeremy Corbyn “senile” during a Commons row over Rishi Sunak’s continued attacks on the former Labour Party leader.
Corbyn attempted to raise a point of order after the prime minister retreated into an attack on the ex-Labour leader at PMQs for the third week in a row.
Mr Streeting could be snidely heard to say: “he’s gone senile”, as Mr Corbyn’s effort to complain was rejected by speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
The shadow health secretary later apologised, saying the comment was made “in jest, but I accept in poor taste”. He added: “I’ve dropped Jeremy a note directly to apologise for any offence caused.”
Mr Corbyn said there was “nothing funny” about Mr Streeting’s remarks as he rebuked the frontbencher – and advised him to make a public apology “to all those who may have been hurt”.
He said: “I have now received an apology … As I said in my reply, there’s nothing ‘in jest’ about calling somebody senile. It’s not funny. It’s very serious for people suffering from dementia. He should know this as shadow health secretary.”
The MP for Islington North tried to raise a point of order at the end of PMQs. But he was shot down by Sir Lindsay, who said the Commons business had moved on to a statement about the Cop27 summit.
Mr Corbyn previously criticised Mr Sunak for giving a “wholly inaccurate representation” of his agenda on national security during last week’s PMQs, asking the PM to correct the record.
Mr Corbyn currently sits as an independent, having been suspended by Labour over his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)’s report into antisemitism in the party.
Wes Streeting insisted this was a joke in poor taste, for the millions of people with onset dementia they must think it’s extremely funny seeing who could potentially be the next health minister using their disability as a weapon of ridicule and mockery.
There have been calls for Wes Streeting to have the whip removed after such an insult that will have seen millions of families affected by Senile Dementia hurt over such a derogatory insult.
1 in 3 people born in the UK this year will develop dementia in their lifetime. There are 944,000 people with dementia in the UK. This will increase to over one million by 2030 and over 1.6 million by 2050.
It is the cruellest of diseases that robs us slowly of our lives and memories.
