PM praises NHS after his barbecue trauma

BORIS JOHNSON said he feels a “massive sense of responsibility” to the NHS, while revealing he last used the health service after stepping on a cafetiere at a barbecue.

He praised the “wonderful” staff at Hillingdon Hospital in Uxbridge, west London, where he ended up last year after stepping on a piece of smashed glass.

Mr Johnson recounted the incident, saying: “I was jumping up and down – I think there was music playing – and a piece of glass went straight into the bottom of my foot and into my sole, my heel.” He was quizzed over the Conservative’s record on the NHS on the

BBC’S Breakfast, after new figures showed hospital waiting times in England were at the worst level on record.

“We have got to do better, I don’t deny that,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that I am not incredibly proud of what the NHS is achieving. We have amazing staff and amazing doctors and, yes, we need to be investing more in them.”

In an interview with Naga Munchetty, Mr Johnson said he understood the angry reaction from some residents when he visited flood-affected areas in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.

He said: “I understand how they feel. There is always more that you can do. You can never do enough.”

He said the Government was providing support to the area with full council tax relief and business rate relief for affected homes and businesses. He added: “We will make sure the insurers don’t weasel out of their obligations to flood victims and we will be bringing forward further packages of compensation. What we have got to do is to continue to invest in flood defences.”

He also vowed to reduce unskilled migration, and faced some uncomfortable questions over his family life, and seemed flustered when asked whether he was “relatable”.

He snapped back: “That’s a matter for other people, I can’t possibly say I’m relatable, what a ridiculous thing.”

Mr Johnson yesterday unveiled his Mercedes-benz Tourismo election battle bus at a rally in Greater Manchester.