Covid-19: John Cleese 'Basildon Fawlty' video branded 'offensive'

John Cleese said he believed he had the virus in March and said "so listen nice people of Basildon - just be careful"

A video of comic actor John Cleese urging people in a Covid-19 hotspot to abide by restrictions has been branded "offensive" by a council leader.

In the "Basildon Fawlty" video, the actor said: "Can people from Basildon start following the rules?"

Basildon Council leader Gavin Callaghan said: "This is offensive. My borough's residents are following the rules."

Essex County Council said the message was "one of encouragement" and the video had been viewed 36,000 times.

The Conservative-run county council is part of the Essex Coronavirus Action group which asked the Monty Python/Fawlty Towers star to record a message.

It was produced last week, ahead of the government announcement that Basildon and much of the rest of Essex being moved from tier two - high alert to tier three - very high alert.

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Writing on Twitter, Mr Callaghan, Labour, said: "The issue is in schools and with asymptomatic workers in manual labour jobs.

"We could really do without this stigma."

'Just be careful'

Basildon has England's third-highest infection rate with 613.8 cases per 100,000 people in the week to 9 December, up from 372.9 the previous week.

In the recorded message, Cleese said: "I think we've got to be careful, after all we are playing with people's health here.

"So listen nice people from Basildon - just be careful."

Mr Callaghan said he felt it was wrong that the video singled out Basildon.

"There is an overwhelming majority who are sticking to the rules," he said.

"We have workers coming in to Basildon from all over the county, more so than anywhere else in Essex."

'Biggest economy'

Responding to Mr Callaghan's tweet, one person replied: "Your mask must be covering your eyes when you're out and about in Basildon if you believe that!"

Mr Callaghan features in a council video, alongside singer Olly Murs and ex-footballers Jamie Redknapp and Rio Ferdinand, in which he urges residents to "keep playing by the rules".

He told BBC Politics East that moving the district into tier three would "devastate people's lives and livelihoods".

A spokesman for the county council said: "The message from John Cleese was one of encouragement and was addressed to the people of Basildon and Essex."

Thanking Mr Cleese for his help, he added such videos have been "very successful" for sharing important public health messages.

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