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Man who grabbed Chris Whitty charged with assault

Published 11:04 2 Jul 2021 BST

Updated 11:17 2 Jul 2021 BST

Charlie Herbert
Man who grabbed Chris Whitty charged with assault

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The incident took place in St James' park earlier this week.

A man has been charged with common assault after England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty was harassed by two men in London. Footage emerged on Tuesday of Prof Whitty trying to get away from two men who grabbed him whilst he was walking through St James' Park. Lewis Hughes, 23, of Wigton Way in Romford, was charged on Thursday over the incident, which took place on Sunday, the Met Police said. https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1409738398986866696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1409738398986866696%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joe.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fman-who-grabbed-chris-whitty-sacked-from-job-as-estate-agent-278623 In a statement, the Met said: "At approximately 19:20hrs on Sunday, 27 June officers in St James's Park became aware of a man being accosted by a group of men," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

"Officers subsequently reviewed video footage which emerged after the incident and the matter was referred to the Public Order Crime Team. Enquiries continue."

Mr Hughes was charged by postal requisition and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 30 July.

The Met said that they had spoken to Prof Whitty, who had suffered no injuries, and checked his welfare. After reviewing the video footage of the incident they decided to charge Mr Hughes.

Hughes had already been sacked from his job as an estate agent after the video of the assault emerged online. He has also since apologised for the incident, saying that he apparently only wanted a selfie with Prof Whitty. Hughes told the Sun: "I absolutely apologise for any upset I caused.

"If I made him feel uncomfortable, which it does look like I did, then I am sorry to him for that.

"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."

Hughes added that there was "no malicious intent" in his actions.

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