Minister Accused Of 'Blaming The Poor' For Their Own Deaths From Coronavirus
A Tory minister has been accused of “blaming the poor” for their own deaths from coronavirus after he suggested they higher mortality rates were due to the “decisions” they make about social distancing or their own health.
The remarks by hereditary peer and health minister Lord Bethell followed calls from Labour to explain why the least well off in have double the Covid-19 death rates of the richest in society.
Former cabinet minister Lord Reid pointed out Office for National Statistics figures showing that, in England, the coronavirus mortality rate in the most deprived areas was 139.6 deaths per 100,000 compared to 63.4 deaths per 100,000 population in the wealthiest areas from March to June.
Reid added that, in June alone, you were 137.5% more likely to die of Covid if you were poor than if you were rich and demanded to know what measures the government was taking to combat the inequality.
Giving a coronavirus update to the House of Lords, which unlike the Commons is still in session until it breaks up for summer this week, Bethell replied that Reid “touches on a subject that is extremely sensitive and makes me feel emotional to think about it”.
Delivering his reply via video link, he then said: “He is entirely right that those who are least advantaged in society are hardest hit by this disease, and by lots of other diseases.
“And there are behavioural reasons for that – the decisions that people make about social distancing, about their own health decisions…”
HuffPost UK understands that Bethell was at this point heckled by shadow Labour health minister Baroness Thornton, who said: “So, you’re blaming the poor, then?” Her remarks were not captured by the televised feed of the exchanges.
Unaware of the heckle, Bethell went on to say: “..and there are environmental reasons, about living conditions and the places in which they live, neither of which detract from the fact that this is a very sad and upsetting truth.”
Bethell added that the...
