On 18 September, Boris Johnson was confronted by an angry parent while visiting a children’s ward.

The parent said the situation was “not acceptable” and told the PM:

There are not enough people on this ward, there are not enough doctors, there’s not enough nurses, it’s not well organised enough. The NHS has been destroyed … and now you come here for a press opportunity.

But that canny political editor at the obviously totally unbiased BBC, Laura Kuenssberg, thought she’d caught the man out:

Turns out the man who challenged the PM is also a Labour activist — Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) September 18, 2019

Enter Paul Mason

Luckily journalist Paul Mason was on hand to set the record straight:

Thanks for reporting that. It shows that our party of 500,000+ people is everywhere, among people suffering as the Conservatives destroy our health and welfare systems, and that even chosen at random they can make the PM look like a pillock… — Paul Mason (@paulmasonnews) September 18, 2019

Because whether or not the man is a “Labour activist” is totally beside the point. And unlike Johnson using sick children as a press opportunity, this parent confronted him because he has a sick child in the hospital:

Boris Johnson dropped into @WhippsCrossHosp for a press opportunity – so I gave him a piece of my mind about how he is running the NHS based on the experience with my 7 day old daughter, who was neglected for hours last night. More here: https://t.co/DsBDvnhC51 https://t.co/vKPs3yzNHx — Omar Salem (@OmarSalem) September 18, 2019

It gets worse

Kuenssberg then sent out a tweet identifying the parent to her 1.1m followers:

This is him here https://t.co/77Hqqo9Avz — Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) September 18, 2019

Although the parent had tweeted that himself, people pointed out to Kuenssberg what the impact of her highlighting him might be:

Jesus, what on earth are you doing? You have a large, privileged platform. You shouldn’t use it like this. Do you ever wonder why people question your impartiality? — Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) September 18, 2019

Journalists and “public figures” have been closings ranks about not giving in to “abusive trolls” (ie anyone who criticises them publicly) this week, and now you incite a pile-on of a random member of the public for daring to express an opinion to your Prime Minister. Despicable. — Alex (@Pieford) September 18, 2019

Other people highlighted what the real story is:

Your journalistic prowess should allow you to notice that people have a go at Bohnson wherever he goes. That a parent of a sick child in the ward when Bohnson arrived supports Labour isn’t the story. The state of the NHS is the story. Does his politics demand he keeps quiet? — Guido Tallman (@GuidoTallman) September 18, 2019

Others questioned:

Is this tweet in accordance with BBC codes of conduct for its journalists? — Queen of Teacups (@JennieMacfie) September 18, 2019

The bottom line is that the parent of a sick child confronted the PM because he happened to turn up at the ward where his sick child is being cared for. Yet somehow a BBC journalist thinks providing evidence of his activism somehow negates his views or his experiences.

This really is a new low, even by the BBC‘s abysmal standards.

Featured image via screengrab and Wikimedia/Marta Jara