A FORMER MP has said he will turn down coronavirus treatment if he develops symptoms ahead of his 90th birthday.

Andrew Bowden MBE served Brighton Kemptown for almost thirty years, but the Conservative politician is saying people should attempt to ease demand on hospitals during the pandemic.

This follows comments made by Professor David King, former chief scientific adviser to the Government, last week. He said elderly or frail people “in the region of 90 or 95” should consider refusing hospital treatment as they are “unlikely to come out of hospital once they go in”.

Mr Bowden said: “Professor David King and other medical experts have urged those people over 90 to think twice before going into hospital and taking up an intensive care bed.

“As former MP for Kemptown, between 1970 and 1997, and after discussions with my wife, I have decided I will not accept any hospital treatment related to the virus during this crisis.”

The NHS recently sent a plea to former staff and healthy adults, asking them to volunteer for the service as the number of coronavirus cases continued to mount - placing unprecedented demand on staff and facilities. These people will be asked to deliver vital supplies such as food and medication to up to 1.5 million vulnerable people across the UK, transport them from hospital when they have been discharged and offer company through phone calls to those who are in self-isolation. More than 405,000 people put themselves forward for roles within the service within 24 hours. But the demand on health services remains huge with thousands more people being diagnosed with the disease each day.

But Mr Bowden said he believed the UK was capable of fighting the virus.

He said: “As a nation, we have come through crises of all sorts. Often against all the odds, we come through determinedly.”

He described the current situation as a “war” but said the British reaction to this adversity reminded him of another Conservative politician’s immortal words, “we shall never surrender” - referring to Winston Churchill’s We Shall Fight on the Beaches speech from the Second World War.