March 11, 2020 4.39 pm This story is over 48 months old

Gainsborough MP with skin condition ‘regularly mocked online’

He has spoken up for the first time about the abuse

A Gainsborough MP with a skin condition has opened up for the first time about the regular online abuse he endures.

Sir Edward Leigh has rosacea which he explained reddens and can deform the face, a condition he takes antibiotics for every day.

On being elected as the chair for a parliamentary group on skin, he said: “I’m regularly mocked on Twitter for my appearance.

“I can take it but it’s harder for the young.

“Don’t mock people for how they look.

“For 20 years we have fought to raise funding for dermatology. It is the Cinderella service of the NHS despite skin cancer being such a huge killer.”

He added that he was moved by recent testimonies from sufferers of vitiligo, eczema, and psoriasis.

There is not a single psycho dermatologist in Lincolnshire, even with 85% of skin disease sufferers quoting psychological damage.