View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. Politics
  2. The Staggers
23 October 2018

Former David Davis aide trolls sick child’s dad

Responding to a picture of a child in a hospital bed bedecked with an EU flag, Stewart Jackson wrote: “What a pathetic cretin.”

By Media Mole

What is it, exactly, that a certain kind of Conservative doesn’t like about the European Union? We’ve all heard the bromides about sovereignty. Some like the idea of free trade. Others long for a new wave of Thatcherite deregulation. Then, of course, there’s migration.

Oh, and those good-for-nothing fifth columnists in, erm, Great Ormond Street Hospital. You know. The one for sick children.

Staging a one-man protest against the creeping influence of Brussels on the step-parents of ill youngsters last night was Stewart Jackson, the once and future chief of staff to once and future failed Tory leadership candidate David Davis.

The man known by colleagues as Wacko Jacko responded in such a way as to make his nickname look like a scientific description rather than a slightly problematic term of abuse.

“What a pathetic cretin,” the recovering MP for Peterborough wrote, continuing a rich literary tradition inaugurated after his defenestration by Labour last year (the other classic of the genre saw him call a former constituent a “thick chav” over Facebook messenger).

Jacko has since deleted his tweet, though not before it was screenshotted by half of Westminster for posterity. In a clarification that definitely makes it all okay, he said it was the stepdad who was the pathetic cretin, not the sick child pictured.

“I think it’s awful that people with extreme views on Remain like this parent should invade a sick child’s privacy to make a political point. He should be ashamed of himself,” he told Politico this morning. His colleagues are saying much the same about him.

Content from our partners
The promise of prevention
How Labour hopes to make the UK a leader in green energy
Is now the time to rethink health and care for older people? With Age UK

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU