English medical director Chris Whitty was verbally abused on the street and shouted a liar, showed a video posted on TikTok on Tuesday.
In the video, you can see a young man repeating to Whitty that he is a liar.
The TikTok account that posted the video has since been deleted.
Whitty has been at the forefront of the Covid-19 pandemic as an adviser to the UK government and appears regularly at press conferences with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock condemned the video and told BBC Breakfast: “I think the person in question is pathetic. I think it’s ridiculous what he’s doing.”
Hancock praised Whitty, saying, “Chris Whitty is one of the best living scientists and his advice to the government, even that, and his advice to all citizens has been incredibly, incredibly intelligent and thoughtful. Great asset for to this nation “.
Matt Vickers, a Conservative MP for Stockton South, also criticized the video via Twitter.
“That’s horrible, I really can’t believe this stuff,” Vickers wrote. “Chris Whitty is doing his best to help guide us through this crisis and we should never be the object of this abuse.”
The UK Department of Health told CNN that they are “concerned that the more these videos circulate, the more they can encourage others to do the same”.