Health Secretary Jeremy C. Hunt has responded to Hawking’s criticism of NHS reforms in a series of tweets, which are pompous even by Hunt’s high standards. The extraordinary war of words between Hunt and Hawking has been described as a ‘clash of the Titans’, or at least a clash of a tit and a Titan.
“I’m not anti-intellectual, some of my best friends are clever, but Prof Hawking should keep his misshapen nose out of my field of expertise and put a sock in his voice simulator,” said an unrepentant Hunt. “We have all had enough of experts. The evidence I have cherry-picked to support my argument supports my argument perfectly. Prof Hawking ought to understand this. I’m the Health Secretary, you’re not, get over it. End of.”
“Prof Hawking owes his life to the NHS. This makes him biased, and means he doesn’t have a leg to stand on,” Hunt continued, at which point his minders dragged him away, the literal implications being too much for even a Conservative government to stomach.
Independent observers have likened the spat to a boxing match, imagining a heavyweight tussle between, say, Muhammad Ali and Michael Gove. Although we would all like to watch that one, it is uncertain whether Jeremy Hunt or Michael Gove should feel smugger about the comparison. It is at least certain that Hunt, like Gove, floats like a bee, stings like a butterfly.
Hawking’s speech did not, regrettably, include the line ‘I’ve seen Jeremy Hunt shadow boxing, and the shadow won.’ Hunt is believed to have sent a team of officials to turn a deaf ear to the speech.
Meanwhile, Hunt continues to live in the government’s little bubble of unreality, a world in which Brexit means Brexit, the sun shines out of Donald Trump’s arse, and Theresa May is still the Prime Minister.
