Estate agent who grabbed Chris Whitty for ‘despicable’ selfie sacked

An estate agent has been sacked after a video of him appearing to harass Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty for a selfie went viral.

The video, which lasts around 20 seconds and was filmed in London’s St James’s Park, shows two grinning men grabbing Prof Whitty as they shout “Oi oi” and say “One photo please?”.

Hughes, who admitted he had been drinking before the encounter, told The Sun: “I’ve paid the price with my job.”

He revealed he had been on an anti-vax march in London on Sunday when the pair saw Prof Whitty, 55, about 3pm in St James’s Park.

Hughes, from Romford, Essex, said: “I absolutely apologise for any upset I caused.

“He is quite a timid, shy person and I think that is why he didn’t say, ‘Get off me’. If he had said that and I had realised how he felt, I wouldn’t have put my arm round him.

Lewis Hughes
Lewis Hughes said he voted for Boris Johnson and was disappointed the PM called him a thug
LinkedIn

“To be honest I just wanted a selfie with Chris Whitty to show my mum.

“I put my arm around him but he started moving away so my arm ended up going around his neck more.”

He added that he lost the job he “loved” at Caplen Estates Agents in Buckhurst Hill, Essex and was having to start over after the footage sparked widespread condemnation.

Meanwhile his friend Chew told The Sun, who said he has ADHD and autism, said: “Sometimes things seem a good idea and really they’re not.

“I don’t think we did anything wrong. We just saw him, and thought, ‘That’s the guy from the TV. He’s famous’.”

Chris Whitty harassment
PA Media

Police said the encounter was recorded as a common assault. Mr Hughes told The Sun the force wouldn’t be taking any further action.

Home Secretary Priti Patel suggested the professor may be offered police protection following the video.

“The police are involved as well and we’re speaking to Chris to look at what we can do to support him,” she told Times Radio.

It is not the first time Prof Whitty has been forced to endure public harassment.

Earlier this month, he was confronted in a street in Oxford by a man accusing him of lying to the public about coronavirus while in February a man accosted the chief medical officer outside Westminster.

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