Senior Tory MP Sir Graham Brady ‘met with anti-vaxxers’
MP reportedly says listening to views ‘does not amount to endorsement’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Anti-vaxxers are said to have met Tory MP Sir Graham Brady last week in a meeting where they called on the Covid vaccine rollout to be suspended.
A group claimed they met with a senior Tory MP last Tuesday, during which they criticised the current vaccination programme - which is estimated to have saved hundreds of thousands of lives so far.
The anti-vaxxers have made false claims against the Covid pandemic and vaccines in the past, including denying the existence of a pandemic and that vaccines are dangerous.
Mark Sexton, an ex-police officer who has spoken at anti-lockdown protests, posted a video claiming he was among a group who met with a senior Tory MP on 21 September.
He said it was put to this MP that the Covid vaccine rollout should be paused “as a matter of urgency” and should “at no point” be given to children.
One of the meeting’s participants, an undertaker John O’Looney, has since claimed this MP was Sir Graham Brady, who heads the Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee.
According to The Times, Sir Graham would not confirm whether the meeting took place.
He said he supported vaccines and that listening to views “does not amount to an endorsement”, the newspaper reported.
The senior Tory has been a vocal critic of lockdowns and face masks - once claiming the purpose of the latter was “social control”.
A video posted on Facebook shows a group of people - including Mr Sexton - claiming to have met with a senior Tory MP and called for the Covid vaccine rollout to be suspended.
Among these includes Dolores Cahill, an academic who claimed last year there was “no pandemic”, and Anna de Buisseret, a lawyer who has called vaccines “bioweapons”.
The Independent has contacted both Sir Graham and the Conservative Party for comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments