Ollie Bibby: Mother feels dismissed by Boris Johnson over dead son

Ollie had a very big heart and bought warm clothes for homeless people who lived near the hospital, his mother said

A mother stopped from seeing her dying son in his final weeks said she felt Boris Johnson "dismissed" a question about what happened to her family.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer highlighted the case of Ollie Bibby, 27, who was not able to see his family as he died in hospital.

Mr Johnson said he "shared the grief of Ollie and his family and millions of people up and down the country".

Penny Bibby said all families who have made sacrifices "must be listened to".

Her son, from South Benfleet, Essex, died of leukaemia in hospital on 5 May, a day before Matt Hancock was filmed kissing a colleague, prompting his resignation as health secretary.

Mr Bibby had begged to see his family in the weeks before his death.

Sir Keir raised the case in the first Prime Minister's Questions since Mr Hancock resigned and asked why he had not been sacked.

He said he had spoken to the Bibby family, who had followed the rules and made "huge sacrifices", in contrast to Mr Hancock, who had set the rules.

"Every time, it's the same old story," said Sir Keir. "Where the British people are doing everything asked of them, it's one rule for them, another rule for everybody else."

Ollie was a non-materialistic, old-fashioned person with lots of friends and a passion for football, his family said

In response, Mr Johnson said: "We all share the grief and pain of Ollie and his family and millions of people up and down the country have endured the privations that this country has been through in order to get the pandemic under control, and that is why we had a change of health secretary a day after the story appeared.

"And that's why as a government, instead of focusing on stuff in the Westminster bubble, we are focusing on rolling out those vaccines at a rate that will make sure that people like Ollie and his family do not have to suffer in the future."

His spokeswoman later said he "absolutely was not" referring to the case of Ollie Bibby when he spoke about the Westminster bubble.

Mrs Bibby said the response made her family feel "not important".

"Boris Johnson just dismissed the question, he avoided answering it entirely, which made us feel like we're not important," she said.

"He keeps going on about vaccinations, but there are no guarantees that families can be together on their death bed, even if everyone is vaccinated.

"There are no signs that anything is going to change."

She previously said she was "livid" Mr Hancock broke social distancing rules, while her family were "treated like criminals" as they battled to see Ollie in the weeks before he died.

She said she had received hundreds of "heartbreaking" messages from families in similar situations since her story came to light.

Ollie's girlfriend Georgia was only allowed to see him twice in the seven weeks he was in hospital before he died

"I have lost confidence in this government now," she said.

"There needs to be a plan, this can't go on. How many more families need to be kept apart while loved ones are dying?"

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Sir Keir told the BBC: "What came across powerfully in my conversation with Penny was the huge dignity which she and her family have shown through this terrible ordeal.

"Ollie's case demonstrates the huge sacrifices that families have made during this pandemic to follow the rules. That's why it was important for me to raise with the prime minister today."

Ollie's three brothers Sam, Casey and Ronnie were not able to say a proper goodbye to him, their mother said

Mr Bibby spent seven weeks at University College London Hospital before he died. His parents said they did not blame the staff, who were following rules, but most of his family were "denied the chance to say goodbye properly".

The hospital said it was "confident that Ollie received appropriate care and treatment and that regular visits were allowed in line with hospital guidance" but it would look to "learn from the family's experience".