Norfolk TV host Becky Jago criticised over 'anti-vax' posts

The newsreader shared videos popular within the anti-vax community and liked Twitter posts challenging high-profile vaccine supporters to a debate on "natural immunity v vaxx" and defending anti-vax MP Andrew Bridgen.

She also posted a link to a story about a woman who suffered side effects from the vaccine along with a quote about making people "more aware of the risks".

The NHS states: "Covid vaccines approved for use in the UK have met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness."

ITV and Jago refused to comment.

But after our sister newspaper the East Anglian Daily Times approached ITV, the tweets, republished here, were deleted.

On Wednesday evening the 46-year-old did not appear on air, with Victoria Lampard standing in, but Jago was back in front of the cameras last night.  

Furious Elysia Depledge, who lost her mum Jenny to Covid, said: "It's worse because her job is to stick to the facts, it's not her job to push this stuff."

Jago, who previously featured on Sky Sports News, Newsround and GMTV, also liked a tweet praising tennis player Novak Djokovic for his anti-vax stance and a video calling for a certain vaccine to be withdrawn.

She has now changed her Twitter biography from a cryptic message about "freedom of speech" to a message saying updates were her own views and that "retweets and likes are not endorsements".

Jago - who has more than 6,000 followers - appears to have been liking messages related to Covid conspiracies since 2021, including a post describing masks and jabs as "modern insanity".

Another tweet liked in 2021 claimed that vaccines did not stop the spread of Covid and said they "barely slowed it".

Mrs Depledge from Beccles, who is part of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said she could "not believe" a prominent journalist would promote anti-vax messages.

"She's clearly gone down a rabbit hole," she said.

"I'm shocked by it - when you've got a voice and a public profile like that with an influence you have a duty to be responsible.

"It's shocking how people dismiss scientists and believe any wackadoodle.

"I don't know if it's because they're scared or if it's just because they're thoughtless.

"With a public position like she's got it's very irresponsible to push this."

Ms Depledge said social media firms must do more to stop misinformation.

"It's really difficult, we've had this for three years. First it was people who didn't believe Covid existed, then it was anti-maskers and now it's anti-vaxxers.

"It infuriates me because of the risk it puts other people under.

"Having the vaccine was an emotional moment for me after what happened to my mum.

"No one's opinion should be used to abuse.

"I've been targetted by these people just for being Covid bereaved, it's horrific."

Professor Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia joined Ms Depledge in slamming anti-vax tweeters, saying members of the community had been mispresenting the facts around the increase of excess deaths in the UK to fit their agenda.

He said: "People are coming up with outrageous things about the vaccine.

"Vaccines aren't killing everything.

"No medical intervention is free from risk whether that's a vaccine or an operation. But what we have to do as scientists is weigh up the risk and in this case it's significantly lower than the benefits.

"People with the vaccine are less likely to die than those who aren't.

"People on social media are deliberately and intentionally distorting the science.

"As scientists, we can only say the truth as we see it - it's disappointing to see this sort of thing on Twitter but that's how it is."

Mr Hunter said the issue was a growing problem on social media.

He added: "It's full of conspiracy theorists now and anti-vax is unfortunately part of that." 

Becky Jago, right, alongside fellow ITV News Anglia David Whiteley (Image: ITV)