Jeremy Hunt accused of ‘hiding’ from the public during NHS cyber attack

Health Secretary has refused to answer questions about the crisis

The Health Secretary has been accused of “hiding” from the public during the NHS cybersecurity crisis after days of radio silence on the issue.

Jeremy Hunt has made no public statement on the cyber attack which has caused disruption across the systems of 47 trusts in England 13 NHS organisations in Scotland since it hit on Friday.

Labour said the public had heard not “a dickie-bird” from the Tory MP while the Liberal Democrats said the Government had been “treating the NHS and its staff like dirt”.

"The Cyberattack that affected many NHS trusts over the weekend saw hospitals forced to cancel appointments, and our already overburdened nurses and doctors under even more stress," Andrew Gwynne, Labour’s National Campaign Co-ordinator, said.

"Jon Ashworth, our Shadow Health Secretary, wrote to Jeremy Hunt on Saturday to ask what the government was doing to support our hard working NHS staff and limit disruption for patients during the crisis, and ask why the Conservatives ignored several warning signs that systems containing sensitive patient data may be vulnerable to attack.

"Despite the serious public concern, Jeremy Hunt has failed to respond and has seems to have been in hiding since the attack, failing to answer any of the public's questions.

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron added: “I’m on my way to speak at the Royal College of Nursing conference in Liverpool. It seems like Jeremy Hunt is hiding.

“He should come and speak to the delegates and explain the Government’s policies! The Government have spent years treating the NHS and its staff like dirt

“I’m going there to talk about investing £6bn a year in the NHS and to give trainee nurses the bursaries they need to access to access higher education and further their careers.”

Asked where Mr Hunt was, Labour’s shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth told the Good Morning Britain programme: “I’ve got no idea. You’re more likely to see Shergar than to see Jeremy Hunt at the moment, aren’t you?”

“I’ve not tried to get in touch with him, maybe I should. I will get in touch with him and ask him where he is.”

Mr Hunt was approached by BBC reporters on Monday morning but refused to answer questions on the crisis outside his London home. Asked why he didn’t take action to shore up the NHS’s cyberdefences Mr Hunt said: “Sorry, excuse me” and cycled away on his bike.

The so-called Ransomware attack has led to the cancellation of some doctors’ appointments, with patients also told to stay away from badly affected A&E units unless they had serious ailments.

In January Mr Hunt was also accused of “hiding” after the British Red Cross declared a winter “humanitarian emergency” in NHS hospitals due to a lack of resource.

The Independent has contacted the Conservatives for comment on this story.