Entertainment
Former comedian Lee Hurst suspended from Twitter for suggesting Chris Whitty harassment was ‘not enough’
Lee Hurst’s account has been suspended over his Whitty tweets (Picture:REX)
Former comedian Lee Hurst has been suspended from Twitter after suggesting the harassment of Chris Whitty was ‘not enough’.
The 58-year-old’s account has been suspended for ‘violating Twitter rules’ after social media users reported a number of his tweets in droves.
After footage surfaced appearing to show two men harassing Chief Medical Officer Whitty in St James’s Park, Hurst – who calls himself a ‘proud Covidiot’ and has made anti-vaccine and anti-mask comments – tweeted: ‘Whatever has happened to Chris Whitty is not enough.’
The ex-panellist on They Think It’s All Over later added: ‘I’m not putting any caveats into the Chris Whitty story. Fk him and his #FullPay, care home murdering scummy pals.
‘If there was no video footage of Chris Whitty we would have been told he was beaten up.’
Hurst’s tweets sparked major backlash, with former rugby star Brian Moore tweeting: ‘Whitty’s father was dragged out of his car and murdered by terrorists in Athens. Lee Hurst is ignorant and a coward.’
Others accused Hurst of inciting violence, and reported the tweets.
Tell Mama UK, which monitors anti-Muslim incidents, tweeted: ‘We have flagged this abhorrent tweet from Lee Hurst regarding Professor Chris Whitty and encourage others to do the same.’
Eventually, Hurst’s account was suspended, and people celebrated the news, with one person joking: ‘Lee Hurst getting suspended from Twitter’s funnier than anything he’s ever said.’
Moore added: ‘Oh dear, Lee Hurst’s account has been suspended – another victim of consequence culture.’
The incident is being investigated (Picture: PA)
This is the second time Hurst’s account has been suspended this year, following a crude tweet he posted about Greta Thunberg, 18, in March.
He complained about ‘the usual suspects’ criticising him after he tweeted: ‘As soon as Greta discovers c**k, she’ll stop complaining about the single use plastic it’s wrapped in.’
Twitter rules state suspension will last between 24 hours to seven days depending on the nature of the violation, but repeat offences can result in full account deletion.
Hurst had previously been mocked for suggesting that humanity made it through the Black Death, which caused the death of up to 200 million people, unscathed without vaccines, and suggesting that young people today were weaker than those who fought in the war because they were getting their jabs.
More: Twitter
The Met Police confirmed that the circumstances around the apparent harassment of Whitty were being investigated.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the men’s behaviour, saying: ‘ I’m shocked at seeing the despicable harassment of chief medical officer Chris Whitty.
‘I condemn the behaviour of these thugs. Our hard-working public servants should not have to face this kind of intimidation on our streets and we will not tolerate it.’
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