Speculation about the Princess of Wales’ health has been branded “village gossip” and “wrong by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Kate Middleton was admitted to The London Clinic in January where she underwent abdominal surgery.
Since then, speculation about her health has been rife online.
The Most Rev Justin Welby told Times Radio: “I think we are obsessed by conspiracy and we have little sense of the humanity of those who are caught in the glare of the news.”
Mr Welby added: “People should be allowed to be ill, have an operation, whatever it is, and live their lives in peace without people demanding they prove something every other day.
Blaming the internet for exacerbating the problem, he said: “It’s extremely unhealthy. It’s just old-fashioned village gossip that can now go round the world in seconds and we have to turn away from that.
“Gossiping in that way is wrong.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer echoed the sentiments, saying people should “butt out” and allow the Princess of Wales to have privacy while she recovers from surgery.
Asked if he feels sorry for Kate, he told Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine: “Yes. I think that we should leave her alone.
“She’s had a difficult operation, and she deserves privacy.”
He added: “We should just butt out and leave her alone… That’s not really a political response, it’s a human response, as a dad and a human being.”
Yesterday The London Clinic, where the Princess of Wales underwent abdominal surgery in January, released a statement amid claims staff tried to access Kate Middleton’s medical records.
The clinic has vowed that all appropriate steps will be taken when dealing with the alleged data breach.
CEO Al Russell said: “Everyone at the London Clinic is acutely aware of our individual, professional, ethical and legal duties with regards to patient confidentiality.
"We take enormous pride in the outstanding care and discretion we aim to deliver for all our patients that put their trust in us every day.
"We have systems in place to monitor management of patient information and, in the case of any breach, all appropriate investigatory, regulatory and disciplinary steps will be taken.
"There is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues."
Up to three people could have been involved in the alleged accessing of Kate’s private details after she was discharged from the London Clinic on January 29, the Mirror reported.
Health minister Dame Andrea Leadsom said t he alleged attempt to access the Princess of Wales’ medical records is “outrageous”.
She told Sky News: “Obviously, it is a matter for the Information Commissioner but it is the case that every patient has the right to their privacy.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel