London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Aug 19, 2026

Woman charged after ‘filming inside hospital claiming pandemic is a lie’

Woman charged after ‘filming inside hospital claiming pandemic is a lie’

A woman who reportedly filmed inside a hospital in a bid to prove the coronavirus crisis is ‘all a lie’ has been charged with a public order offence.

Debbie Hicks, 46, from Stroud, Gloucestershire, was arrested in her dressing gown at home on December 29, a day after allegedly walking around Gloucestershire Royal Hospital saying wards were ‘shut down’ and it was ‘completely dead’.

The hospital issued a response to the clip last month insisting wards were ‘extremely busy’ caring for more than 200 Covid-19 patients.

The eight-minute video was filmed on December 28, shortly after the area was moved into tier three.

It allegedly shows Hicks walking the hospital corridors saying: ‘We’ve been put into tier three for this? It’s a disgrace. I’ve seen less than 20 people.

‘It’s completely dead in an empty hospital with wards shut down and the lights off. Where are all the people dying and where is the mutant virus?

‘I can’t see the evidence and neither can the public watching. We’ve been robbed of Christmas for this.’

Gloucestershire Royal Hospital hit back at the time to say more than 200 patients were being treated on its coronavirus wards.

A statement from Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘We are currently caring for more than 200 patients with Covid-19.

‘This includes many who require treatment in our critical care departments and a further 500-plus non-Covid patients who need our care and expertise.’

Local MP Siobhan Baillie said it was ‘appalling’ that hospital staff ‘had to spend their precious time during this difficult pandemic defending themselves against films on social media that were wrongly claiming the hospital is empty’.

Hicks has been charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, under Section 5 of the Public Order Act and is due to appear at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court om March 30.

A Gloucestershire Police spokesperson said: ‘The charge relates to an incident at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital on Monday December 28.’

Footage of her arrest was also later posted on social media.

Hicks was also arrested in Parliament Square on January 6 after attending an anti-vaccine protest.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
A Sleepless Night on Wall Street: Nasdaq to Begin Nearly Round-the-Clock Trading
"The First in the World": 69-Year-Old Protested Artificial Intelligence—and Went to Jail
Ukraine's Ousted Defence Minister Calls for Wartime Presidential Election
UK Marks Ten Years of Night Tube as London Weekend Usage Exceeds Eighty-One Thousand Journeys a Night
Met Office Issues Thunderstorm Warnings Across Northern Ireland Over Flash-Flood Risk
Frasers Group Raises Stake in Hugo Boss to Nearly Forty-Eight Percent
Scottish Clyde Marine Pilots Prepare for Strike That Could Disrupt Glasgow and Greenock Shipping
Twenty Passengers Injured After Southern Train Derails Near Lewes in East Sussex
Government Rules Out High-Speed Rail Revival Between West Midlands and Northern England
West Midlands Bus Network Returns to Public Ownership in Twenty-Four Million Pound Deal
UK Competition Watchdog Targets Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Drip Pricing
Northern Ireland Health Minister Mike Nesbitt Resigns After Dispute Over Causeway Hospital Surgery Closure
UK Long-Term Government Bond Yields Rise to Five Point Eight Five Percent as Borrowing Costs Surge
UK Government Overhauls Planning Rules to Push Housing Development Near Major Transport Hubs
UK Health and Economic Pressures Highlight Wider Strain on Households and Public Finances
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Reaffirms Full Support for Ukraine Amid Russian Warnings
Sainsbury’s Suspends Live Facial Recognition at London Store After Customer Misidentified
Artists Urge UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Reject New North Sea Oil and Gas Licensing
UK Government Awards Four Hundred and Fifty-Six Million Pound Civil Service Training Contract to EY and KPMG
Global Government Bond Yields Rise as Middle East Conflict Fuels Inflation Concerns
British Housing Market Records Weakest August Since Two Thousand and Eighteen as Asking Prices Fall
UK Announces New Sanctions on Russian Shadow Fleet and Financial Institutions
UK Approves Virgin Rail Group Services Through Channel Tunnel, Challenging Eurostar
UK Government Backs Three Hundred Million Pound AI Investment Zone in North Lanarkshire
UK Declares National Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Imported Eggs
China’s Lifelike AI Humans Move From Livestreams Into Real-World Service Roles
UK Government Rolls Out £5.8 Billion Regional Investment Programme to Revive High Streets
AstraZeneca Ends Late-Stage Lung Cancer Trial After Data Shows No Survival Benefit
London Stocks Fall for Sixth Day as Bond Yields and Middle East Tensions Weigh on Markets
UK Government Rewrites Planning Rules to Accelerate Housing Near Transport Hubs
UK Wildfires Spread Across Southern England as Met Office Issues Severe Heat Warnings
British Doctors Warn Cancer Care Is at Risk as Hospitals Reject More Than a Quarter of Urgent Referrals
UK Hospitals Suspend Critical Care as Extreme Heat Exposes Infrastructure Failures
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Thieves Steal Antonello da Messina Renaissance Masterpieces From Sicilian Museum
Better.com Founder Who Fired 900 Employees on Zoom Is Ousted as CEO
Italian Speed Camera Issues Nearly 32,000 Fines in 10 Weeks, Worth More Than €3 Million
AI Manager at San Francisco Store Recommends Firing Human Employee
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Campaigners Press Government to Strengthen Rights for Four Million Gig Workers
Government Considers Higher Private Rents to Spread Asylum Accommodation Across UK
UK Moves to Protect Historic Pubs From Conversion Into Housing and Offices
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to House of Commons
British Manufacturers Report Rising Cybersecurity Threats Across Industrial Supply Chains
Royal Navy Increases Monitoring of Russian Ships in UK Waters by 25 Percent
England Adds More Than 350 Medical Training Posts to Strengthen NHS Capacity
NHS Waiting Lists Over 52 Weeks Rise by More Than 11,000 Patients
Brent Crude Near $88 Raises Fresh UK Energy Cost Concerns
UK Treasury Warns Prolonged Strait of Hormuz Disruption Could Cut 2027 Growth to 0.3 Percent
×