She admitted she was “not overjoyed” with the way her son acted.
The mum of one of the men who harassed Professor Chris Whitty in a London park has apologised for his action, saying that he “misread the situation.”
A video of two men, Jonathan Chew and Lewis Hughes, surfaced online of the two men grabbing England’s chief medical officer as he tries to get away from the pair. The two men received widespread criticism for their actions, with Boris Johnson and Priti Patel labelling them as “thugs.”
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.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 29, 2021
Since the footage emerged, Hughes has lost his job as an estate agent and has been charged with common assault by the Metropolitan Police.
Now, Chew’s mother has come out and apologised for his actions and admitted that she was “not overjoyed” at the “over-exuberant” way her son approached Prof Whitty.
Natasha, 49, also said that her son has ADHD and is autistic so struggles to read situations sometimes.
Speaking to MailOnline, she said: “First and foremost I would like to apologise for any distress that the incident may have caused Mr Whitty.
“My son and his friend had been enjoying their day, having a few social drinks together when they spotted Mr Whitty.
“Realising who he was, and understanding how important he is to our country at this very moment, they wanted to get a picture with him.
“As with most celebrities and famous people, it is commonplace for the public to want a picture with them and you can clearly hear Jonathan asking for a picture with Mr Whitty.
“However, due to Jonathan’s autism, he finds it difficult to read situations and was not aware that his excitement at spotting Mr Whitty was causing any distress. I hope Mr Whitty is feeling more at ease now that sufficient time has passed and he can continue with his job without distractions.”
She added that her son “did not intend to cause harm.”
Natasha went on to say: “As his mother, I was not overjoyed at the way in which the boys asked for a photo, the over-exuberant nature in which they approached Mr Whitty.”
However, she was also critical of the headline coverage that the footage had got.
She said: “It has taken centre-stage across all of the main UK news broadcasters at a time in which several more significant stories have come out involving mishandlings by members of our government.
“Jonathan wishes to apologise for any distress this incident has caused Mr Whitty, we hope he can move on from this incident as we also wish to.”
