A HAGLEY neurologist who blew the whistle on fears among medics about the risks of a no deal Brexit says he was "humbled" by a Tory MP's decision to jump ship to the Lib Dems after hearing Jacob Rees-Mogg's "disdain" for the top doc on national radio.
Conservative MP Dr Phillip Lee told how hearing Tory Rees Mogg's reaction to Dr David Nicholl in a radio phone in on LBC earlier this week was the "straw that broke the came's back" and prompted him to defect to the Liberal Democrats ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's showdown with Conservative rebels.
The Bracknell MP's decision to switch sides left the PM with no working majority and enabled MPs to take the first step towards passing legislation to block a no deal situation.
Dr Lee said of his decision to defect: "The way in which Mr Rees-Mogg referred to the consultant, his manner, his disdain, his disregard for an expert’s advice was really quite shocking."
Mr Rees-Mogg had accused respected consultant neurologist Dr Nicholl of fearmongering after he challenged the leader of the House of Commons on LBC’s Nick Ferrari radio show over what mortality rate he would accept if the UK were to leave the EU without a deal.
The Tory MP said the doctor should be "quite ashamed" and his suggestion was "the worst excess of Project Fear". Dr Nicholl challenged the Conservative politician to report him to the General Medical Council and branded him a "muppet" over his comments and he told the News: "What he said was defamatory. He suggested I was lying - I stand by every single word I've said."
The doc, who contributed to the government's no-deal Brexit planning documents dubbed Operation Yellowhammer, said he is "under no doubt there'll be patient harm" if the UK leaves the EU with no deal in place.
He said: "I was one of those experts who advised on the no deal planning. I became seriously quite scared."
Dr Nicholl, who works for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, said he began worrying about patients he was seeing and not being able to explain there were problems with stockpiling certain drugs that were vital to them. He is convinced no deal could result in patient deaths if there are problems accessing medication but he added: "What we don't know is the scale."
He claims the Government has been stockpiling bodybags just in case and, stood in a bodybag as he took to the streets of Birmingham with a loudspeaker to raise concerns, he said: "These sorts of things aren't being discussed. I’ve spent my life trying to avoid patient harm. We should be trying to avoid a no deal."
He praised Stourbridge MP Margot James on her decision to vote against the Government to try to halt a no deal outcome and said: "I'm no Tory but Margot James did the right thing."
Those who voted to back PM Boris Johnson, however, have "crossed the line" - he said, including his own MP, Chancellor Sajid Javid, whom he has accused of "trashing democracy" by agreeing to prorogue Parliament and refusing to meet with him and fellow constituents concerned about the implications of a no deal Brexit.
Taking to Twitter, he thanked Dr Phillip Lee for his "courage" in abandoning the Tories and he said "genuinely I'm humbled" - adding that he hoped more MPs would follow.
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