Top Brexiteer sparks fury by calling ill young boy a ‘cretin’
Stewart Jackson, who used to work for David Davis, later insisted he wasn't referring to the sick child but was slamming the parents for indoctrinating them
A TOP Brexiteer has sparked fury by responding to a picture of a sick child in hospital with the words "pathetic cretin".
Stewart Jackson, who used to work for David Davis, later insisted he wasn't referring to the ill boy, but was slamming the parents for making political points.
Activist Anthony Hobley posted a snap on Twitter of his young stepson, who couldn't make it to the pro-EU 'People's Vote' march on Saturday in central London, which saw 700,000 protest against Brexit.
He wrote: "My stepson had an operation yesterday at Great Ormond Street. He's incredibly brave but gutted he can't be at the #PeoplesVoteMarch today with his brothers and sisters.
"You can see he'll be there in spirit and his brothers are saluting him with a dab!"
He posted a pic of the boy in bed draped in an EU flag, alongside another with another two kids wearing 'Bollocks to Brexit' hats.
But Mr Jackson replied: "What a pathetic cretin".
The ex-MP refused to apologise last night for the jibe, and insisted he was talking about the parents, not the child.
He later deleted the tweet, but added in comments to the media: "He should be ashamed of himself."
The ex-Peterborough politician later tweeted: "What sort of individual invades their sick child's privacy at a sensitive time to make a political point about the so called Peoples Vote? Really. Awful."
The news came just hours after Theresa May warned that politicians must be careful about the language that they use.
Over the weekend a Tory backbencher was quoted in papers as saying: "The moment is coming when the knife gets heated, stuck in her front and twisted. She'll be dead soon."
MPs on all sides of the political debate condemned the language.
Labour MP Wes Streeting said last night: "This is beneath you. You should delete it and issue a grovelling apology."
And Tory MP Heidi Allen said: "What a pathetic, unkind and nasty man."
It's not the first time the Brexiteer has got into trouble for controversial comments online.
He launched a tirade of abuse at a former constituent after losing his seat last year - calling him a "pillock" and a "thick chav".
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