A doctor who won a legal action against the Government after her dad died from suspected Covid while living in an Oxfordshire care home, has told Radio 4's Woman's Hour why she thinks it’s wrong for Matt Hancock to appear on I'm A Celebrity.
Dr Cathy Gardner said basic mistakes were made at the start of the pandemic and these should come out in the public enquiry.
"This is not the time to be performing on television for entertainment."
She told host Emma Barnett: "I'm just disgusted. I'm disgusted that Matt Hancock would even consider doing something like this to try and turn himself into some kind of lovable entertainment figure.
"But I'm also disgusted at the producers of the programme, ITV, for inviting him to take part. It shows an appalling lack of judgement and a complete disregard for the feelings of the bereaved."
‘This is not the time to be performing on television for entertainment’
— BBC Woman's Hour (@BBCWomansHour) November 9, 2022
Dr Cathy Gardner, whose dad died from suspected Covid whilst living in a care home, tells @emmabarnett why she thinks it’s wrong for @MattHancock to appear on @imacelebrity. Listen to the full interview ⬇️
Dr Gardner, whose father died of ‘probable Covid’ in a care home in April 2020, won a High Court case against the Government, challenging its claim that there had been a ‘protective ring’ around care homes.
She told Ms Barnett: "For him now to turn around and say, oh well, he wants us to see his human side... I think I've seen that. He's shown no remorse, he's not apologised, he's not even accepted the ruling of my case.
"This is just a direct insult to everybody affected."
"We have one of the worst death tolls in the world from Covid. He was Secretary of State for Health and Social Care at the start of the pandemic. He was involved in making some very, very significant decisions that affected the lives and ultimately caused the deaths or had a part to play in the deaths of many thousands of people."
Dr Gardner's father, Michael Gibson, 88, a retired superintendent of births, marriages and deaths, had been a resident of Cherwood House Care Centre in Caversfield near Bicester.
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This story was written by Miranda Norris, she joined the team in 2021 and covers news across Oxfordshire as well as news from Witney.
Get in touch with her by emailing: Miranda.Norris@newsquest.co.uk. Or find her on Twitter: @Mirandajnorris
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