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06th Jul 2021

Second man charged with assault after Chris Whitty accosted in park

Danny Jones

This comes after his friend was charged with common assault

A second man has been charged with assault following the public harassment of Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty, last week. Whitty was captured on video being grabbed and followed by two men in St James Park, both of which have now been charged.

While the first man, Johnathan Chew, lost his job and charged with common assault, the second individual – identified as Lewis Hughes – has now been slapped with the same charges as well as obstructing police.

Chew, 24, is set to appear at the Westminster magistrate’s court today and his friend, 23, will follow him on the 30th of July.

Although we are yet to hear anything from those connected to Hughes, Chew’s mother came out to argue that her son “misread the situation” and was simply looking to get a picture after having “had a few drinks”.

Regardless of whether the two intended to cause harm or not – Whitty did not sustain any injuries – the matter was referred to the public order crime team after being reviewed by the Met police officers and it has been made clear that this behaviour is unacceptable.