Actor Jennifer Saunders has been forced to deny any link to a viral Facebook post blaming the NHS for personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages, after it was falsely attributed to her.

The lengthy post attempts to shift blame for PPE failings among health workers during the coronavirus pandemic to the NHS itself, calling those who criticise the government “crayon eaters who are set on pulling Boris [Johnson] down”.

Taking to Twitter, the Absolutely Fabulous actor addressed the post, writing: “Not me. Not by me. The Official Jennifer Saunders Facebook page is not me. Please ignore.”

As reported by Full Fact, Saunders’ link to the post seems to have come from the “Jennifer Saunders Fans” page, who shared the words but claim not to have attributed them to the comedian.

In recent weeks, Saunders has regularly used her social media feed to retweet posts criticising the government for their “inaction” during the Covid-19 crisis, leading fans to immediately separate the post from the actress.

“The tiniest amount of research would tell you this illiterate garbage is not written by Jennifer Saunders,” one Twitter user wrote. “Sort yourselves out.”

It comes as a BBC Panorama investigation found that the UK government failed to include key items of PPE, such as gowns and visors, in its pandemic stockpile before coronavirus reached the UK.