Dumbarton and the Vale’s MP has paid tribute to his late brother Graham while criticising the Prime Minister over the views of one of his advisors.
Martin Docherty-Hughes questioned Boris Johnson on why Andrew Sabinsky was employed despite discriminatory comments on eugenics – which is the science of controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics.
The local MP shared how his late brother Graham died aged 15 from cerebral palsy. He was unable to walk, talk or feed himself, but Mr Docherty-Hughes told his colleagues in the Commons how he brought love and joy to all who knew him.
He asked the Prime Minister: “To advise the house on behalf of every disabled person on this island, why Andrew Sabinsky was put at the heart of his government and was not removed from his position immediately, when his abhorrent views became apparent?”
The former Downing Street adviser resigned one day after being appointed, when it was revealed he believed forced long-term contraception would rid the country of it’s “permanent underclass”, or as early eugenicists termed it, the “residuum”.
In response, Mr Johnson said: “I certainly don’t share those views and neither does anyone else in this government. And that individual no longer works for this government.”
Mr Docherty-Hughes told the Reporter: “The majority of my constituents who value the contribution of people with disabilities will be appalled that the Prime Minister has once again failed to unequivocally condemn such discriminatory views.”
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