Man charged over Chris Whitty incident in London park

Police interviewed England's chief medical officer and reviewed video before charges were brought

Prof Whitty (R) struggles to free himself as he attempts to walk away from two men, who then follow him. Twitter/EPA

A man has been charged after an encounter with England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty in a London park.

Lewis Hughes, 23, of Romford, was charged with common assault.

Police interviewed Prof Whitty and reviewed video footage before charges were brought.

"At approximately 19:20hrs on Sunday, June 27 officers in St James's Park became aware of a man being accosted by a group of men,” the Metropolitan Police said.

"Officers subsequently reviewed video footage which emerged after the incident and the matter was referred to the Public Order Crime Team. Enquiries continue.”

Hughes and Jonathan Chew, 24, were criticised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson after a video of the public official being apparently harassed went viral.

It showed two men laughing and jeering as they grabbed hold of Prof Whitty in St James’s Park in central London. The senior civil servant struggled to free himself as he attempted to walk away from the pair.

The men were attending an anti-vaccine march when they spotted Prof Whitty, they said in a newspaper interview.

Mr Hughes, who worked for Caplen Estates in Essex but lost his job as a result of the incident, told The Sun: “I absolutely apologise for any upset I caused,” he said.

“If I made him feel uncomfortable, which it does look like I did, then I am sorry to him for that.”

Mr Chew said he had wanted a photograph with Prof Whitty.

“We just saw him, and thought, ‘That’s the guy from the TV. He’s famous’,” he said.