A girl aged seven wrote to Boris Johnson, politely reminding him to wash his hands – and got a reply from the PM himself.
Josephine Booth put pen to paper after her seventh birthday party was cancelled because of coronavirus.
She told Mr Johnson she was staying home “because you asked us to” and that the party was off “because I want everyone to be OK” – then reminded him to wash his mitts.
Last night Josephine’s stunned parents spoke of their pride after the PM shared their daughter’s note and his reply.
Mr Johnson posted his handwritten response online 24 hours later, telling Britons to “#BeLikeJosephine”.
Mum Philippa, 34, said: “We are thrilled – I have even been a bit teary. When we told Josephine her jaw dropped, it was amazing.
“We weren’t expecting anything so to have a response so quickly at a time like this really brightens things up and makes it a bit less overwhelming.
“It was hard having to break the news in a child-friendly way that she wouldn’t be going to school or seeing her friends for a while because of the virus. But she took it all on board.
“People Josie’s age have responded so well to the changes.”
Philippa and husband Andrew, 35, gently broke the news that Josephine’s day out with eight pals to Go Ape adventure park in Southampton had to be called off.
Full-time mum Philippa said: “It’s the kind of thing that is quite upsetting for a seven-year-old.
“But there were no tears at all, just a look of disappointment which actually turned into an understanding sense of, ‘Yes, we have to do this for our world’.
"We had been telling her about Boris Johnson’s advice to sing happy birthday twice while washing hands and singing it to her ahead of her special day – so she knows all about him.
“On her birthday, we did an indoor treasure hunt and she had pancakes and fruit and opened presents, which included a writing set.
“She asked, ‘Can I write to Boris Johnson?’ and Andrew said, ‘Why not? That’s a great idea!’”
Josephine told the PM: “I want to let you know it is my birthday today but I am staying at home because you asked us to.
"I think Mummy and Daddy might have to cancel my party but I don’t mind because I want everybody to be OK. Please keep working hard to keep us all well.
“Are you remembering to wash your hands?
“Lots of love, Josephine, aged 7 (today).”
She signed it off with a heart and another note saying “wash hands x”
The PM posted his handwritten response online a day later, telling his 1.6 million Twitter followers to wish Josephine a happy birthday “(twice), while washing our hands”.
He told the youngster: “You are setting a great example.
"We are working round the clock to keep people safe, and if we work together we can send coronavirus packing.
"And once we have done that you can DEFINITELY have a party with your friends!”
Mum-of-three Philippa, from Stubbington, Hants, added: “It’s just amazing that he took the time to respond while dealing with this crisis.
“Seeing all the positivity online and people sharing it talking about Josephine makes us all so proud and says great things about our country and how we are pulling together.”
