A government minister has claimed she got faster NHS treatment because she backed a ceasefire in Gaza.
According to the Daily Mail, Jess Phillips said she had gone to A&E at a hospital in her home city of Birmingham after suffering breathing difficulties.
Speaking at an ‘An Evening With Jess Phillips’ event at the Kiln Theatre in London, the Home Office minister said she had faced a lengthy wait due to overcrowding.
“I have genuinely seen better facilities, health facilities, in war zones, in developing countries around the world,” the MP told the audience.
She eventually made it to the front of the queue, but said that was “undoubtedly” thanks to her outspoken stance on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Phillips was one of eight Labour MPs who left the party’s frontbench last year after voting for a ceasefire.
The Birmingham Yardley MP said: “I got through because of who I am. Also the doctore who saw me was Palestinian, as it turns out. Almost all the doctors in Birmingham seemed to be.”
She added: “He was sort of like, ‘I like you. You voted for a ceasefire’. [Because of that] I got through quicker.”
HuffPost UK has contacted Phillips for a comment.
Earlier this month, the MP admitted she had made a “mistake” over a post she put on X during the recent riots.
Responding to footage showing a Sky News reporter being confronted by masked men in Birmingham, Phillips said it was caused by “misinformation” being spread in the area.
“These people came to this location because it has been spread that racists were coming to attack them,” she posted.
Following criticism of her remarks, Phillips said: “I think I almost certainly could have phrased it better.
“Anybody, regardless of who they are, whichever flag they wish to wave, anyone being a thug on our streets should not be tolerated.
“Of course I would choose my words more carefully. I’m more than happy to say that when I make a mistake, absolutely.”
