Labour minister Jess Phillips 'claims she was given quicker treatment in A&E because she supports a Gaza ceasefire'
30 August 2024, 17:50
Labour minister Jess Phillips is said to have claimed she was given preferential treatment at an NHS A&E because a doctor recognised her support for a ceasefire in Gaza.
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Ms Phillips, who is a junior Home Office minister, said a Palestinian doctor at her local hospital told her he treated her quicker than he would have done otherwise, because of her voting record.
The MP for Birmingham Yardley resigned from her shadow ministerial role in November last year to vote for an immediate ceasefire.
Keir Starmer, who was then leader of the Opposition, had told his Shadow Cabinet not to vote for an SNP amendment calling for a ceasefire.
Ms Phillips was one of eight shadow ministers and dozens more backbenchers who defied the instruction.
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The Labour stance at that point was to call for pauses in the fighting to get aid into Gaza - but without calling for a full ceasefire immediately.
Keir Starmer has since called for an immediate ceasefire.
Ms Phillips said she went to the hospital because she was having trouble breathing, but the A&E turned out to be overcrowded, the Mail reported.
Recounting the episode during an appearance at a London theatre entitled 'An Evening with Jess Phillips,' the MP said she had "genuinely seen better facilities, health facilities, in war zones, in developing countries around the world.
She said that she eventually reached her turn for treatment, but told the audience: "I got through because of who I am.
"Also, the doctor who saw me was Palestinian, as it turns out. Almost all the doctors in Birmingham seemed to be.”
She said: "He was sort of like, ‘I like you. You voted for a ceasefire’. [Because of that] I got through quicker."
Labour stormed to a convincing victory in the General Election in July, but many observers think that their initial stance on the Gaza issue cost them votes, including among the Muslim voters who often largely vote their way.
Ms Phillips herself won her seat again, but with a decreased majority of under 700 votes, down from over 10,000.
She said the election was the worst she had ever stood in, claiming abuse by her main opponent, an independent pro-Gaza candidate.
She said she and her team had been threatened and intimidated by opposition activists, and one of her team even had the tyres of her car slashed.
