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Furious MP Chris Bryant accuses radio host Dan Wootton of being a 'nutcase' over herd immunity views

REUTERS/Olivia Harris
REUTERS/Olivia Harris

A senior Labour MP accused radio host Dan Wootton of being a "complete and utter nutcase" for his views on herd immunity.

Chris Bryant got into a row with the TalkRadio host on Monday afternoon during a discussion about the effectiveness of the Welsh “fire breaker” lockdown.

During the tetchy exchange, Mr Bryant told Mr Wootton he did not seem “very bright” and his questioning was a “really tedious way of doing radio”.

Mr Bryant laid into the Sun executive editor when he claimed that “science has forever used herd immunity” to deal with viruses.

The journalist also said he had signed up to the controversial “Great Barrington Declaration” which calls for herd immunity and has been signed by anti-lockdown scientists and widely shared by conspiracy theorists.

Mr Bryant, a former priest, suggested those behind it were “crackpots” before telling Mr Wootton: “You’re a nutcase – you’re a complete and utter nutcase. And you’re dangerous as well.”

Mr Wootton told his team to cut the interview short, adding: “Chris, do you know what, you can go off now – get rid of this man.”

The MP could be seen pressing the button to end the call before he was cut off.

Mr Bryant has been the MP for Rhondda in South Wales since the 2001 general election.

The MP, who was treated for skin cancer in the last 18 months, said he understood the risks of non-coronavirus health problems going undiagnosed but warned it was important to make sure hospitals are not overwhelmed with covid cases.

Following the spat, Mr Bryant tweeted: “I had no idea this man was such a dangerous conspiracy theorist.”

Meanwhile Mr Wootton stood by his comments and told Mr Bryant he was the “dangerous” one.

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