Chris Whitty had the best response when asked about the video of a Covid-denier heckling him

England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty has responded to a video shared on TikTok in which he was accused of “lying” about cases of Covid-19.

The clip, which has been met with condemnation from MPs, sees the young man approach Professor Whitty in a London market and say: “You’re a liar. Mandem, he’s a liar.

“You lie about the COVID-19 cases, man. Come on, man, stop lying to the TV.”

However, in the latest Downing Street press conference, Professor Whitty said “the odd young lad showing off” happens occasionally, adding that he didn’t “think anything of it”.

“I was very surprised it was picked up by the media at all as anything of any importance. I’m sure he’ll become a model citizen in due course and hopefully more like Captain Tom, who is the kind of person who I think much more exemplifies the spirit of the UK,” he said.

The comment was met with murmurs of approval from prime minister Boris Johnson and came a day after the 100-year-old fundraiser died after being admitted to hospital with Covid-19.

Professor Whitty went on to add: “He is himself, clearly absolutely remarkable, but what he was also doing was showing how it is that everybody has responded to this. 

“If it wasn’t for that, we would not see those numbers coming down, and that peak […] would not have occurred – that’s because everybody has worked together.”

Members of the public soon to took to Twitter to praise the adviser’s “professional” reply:

As well as responding to the pandemic, it’s good to know the CMO has a witty response prepared for Covid deniers.