Labour minister claims she got preferential hospital care because she voted for Gaza ceasefire
Jess Phillips has reportedly claimed she was looked on favourably at a packed Birmingham hospital because the doctor was 'Palestinian'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Home Office minister Jess Phillips has reportedly claimed she received preferential treatment at A&E in a Birmingham hospital because a Palestinian doctor liked her because she had voted in favour of a Gaza ceasefire.
In comments likely to raise eyebrows in the government the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley the Daily Mail reports that Phillips made the claim at a speaking event in North London.
Phillips is said to have recalled a recent incident in which she turned at a packed hospital seeking help after she suffered breathing difficulties.
The MP, 42, said she received preferential treatment “undoubtedly” because she was recognised, but also because”the doctor who saw me was Palestinian…..almost all the doctors in Birmingham seemed to be.”
She then reportedly added: “He was sort of like, “I like you. You voted for a ceasefire”. [Because of that] I got through quicker.”
Phillips was speaking an event billed as An Evening With Jess Phillips, held at Kiln Theatre in North London.
She described the state of the Birmingham hospital as dire adding she had “genuinely seen better facilities, health facilities, in war zones, in developing countries around the world.”
Phillips had recently apologised for comments made in response to a video showing masked men confronting a reporter during the far-right riots earlier in the month.
The footage showed a Sky News broadcast in her Birmingham Yardley constituency cut short after men in masks surrounded a journalist.
Responding to the clip on social media at the time, Phillips claimed the incident involving a group young Muslims waving Palestinian flags had been due to “misinformation” spread in the area.
Her comments have been criticised by political opponents, including Tory leadership candidates Tom Tugendhat and James Cleverly.
Cleverly accused her of “making excuses for masked men shouting, abusing and intimidating members of the media”, after gangs of men in balaclavas turned out on the streets.
Phillips later admitted she “would choose my words more carefully” in the future.
The MP’s majority at the last election plummeted from 10,659 to just 693, as pro-Palestine activists sought to defeat her of Labour’s stance on Gaza.
Becoming increasingly outspoken against Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza in order to win back support, Phillips later complained of the harassment she suffered during the election campaign.
Phillips, who has represented Birmingham Yardley since 2015, has one of the biggest followings on X among Labour MPs.
She resigned as a shadow minister to call for a ceasefire in Gaza during a vote in Parliament last November.
But she returned to the Labour frontbench after the party’s landslide election victory last month, when she was appointed Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Minister at the Home Office.
Jewish News has contacted Labour for comment. The Daily Mail said Phillips had declined the opportunity to comment further.
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