Kirsty Gallacher and Darren McCaffrey
(Picture: @GBNEWS/ Twitter)GB News is still trucking along showcasing ‘alternative opinions’ and today they’ve spun the wheel to decide that the people who harassed Chris Whitty in a park were not “thugs” but just “drunks” excited to see a public figure.
Discussing disturbing footage of the chief medical officer (CMO) being followed and grabbed by two men that emerged last night, Kirsty Gallacher and Darren McCaffrey said that, while it was unpleasant and they could see Whitty was “uncomfortable”, it it was not tantamount to harassment.
What do you think about the video of Chris Whitty?
— GB News (@GBNEWS) June 29, 2021
Kirsty Gallacher and Darren McCaffrey have their say. Do you agree? Email gbviews@gbnews.uk pic.twitter.com/tVmi3eXVG2
Gallacher said: “They are clearly very inebriated, I don’t think it’s massively disturbing”.
McCaffrey added: “I don’t necessarily think they are thugs, they’re just drunks.
“I don’t think they are harassing him.”
The clip in question shows two men grabbing Whitty and making a lot of noise while asking him for a photo. In the video, Whitty attempts to walk away but the men put their hands around his shoulders to try and pull him back.
The Metropolitan Police are now investigating the incident, which led MPs, ministers and other public figures to call for him to receive greater protection:
Give Chris Whitty a minsiterial car ffs
— Grant Tucker (@GrantTucker) June 28, 2021
I’ve seen the video of the CMO being harassed. It’s appalling and totally unacceptable. The CMO works tirelessly on behalf of the country. We will not tolerate this sort of behaviour towards our public servants. The men behaving in this disgraceful way should be ashamed.
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) June 29, 2021
GB News’ Simon McCoy even said:
This is a complete disgrace. Chris Whitty should be protected from idiots like these. https://t.co/m1sgBANBz5
— Simon McCoy (@SimonMcCoyTV) June 28, 2021
But his opinion was not shared by two of his colleagues.
“They’re not really being very nasty are they?” Gallacher said.
“They saw someone they recognised and got a bit excited”, McCaffrey replied.
It’s worth noting that Gallacher did say that incidents like these could escalate and Whitty would not have known whether or not the men involved were dangerous or not. She said in the future he should be protected in case people carry weapons. For his part, McCaffrey said that incidents like this should not happen.
But they stopped short of calling it harassment and were reluctant to criticise the men involved too heavily, which viewers saw as bizarre:
See how you would feel have a stranger basically grab you round the neck . Not acceptable in any form
— Laurence (@Laurencewegner) June 29, 2021
Missing the boat here. Drunk or not, thugs or not, you could see Whitty was uncomfortable. No one should be held/touched like that. If they did that to a woman would you be saying the same?… suspect not. They should be charged, Whitty needs protection to/from work.
— Russell (@Russ_TheWolfman) June 29, 2021
They are talking bollocks, he has been assaulted in that video. Being drunk is not a defence.
— Nick (@nicknak69) June 29, 2021
All in all, it seems that the hot takes at GB News are continuing to fly. Lucky us.
