UK's oldest identical twin, 96, blasts PM after losing sister to COVID

The UK’s oldest identical twin has slammed Boris Johnson’s handling of the COVID crisis after losing her sister to the virus.

Lilian Cox, who was also hospitalised with COVID, praised the doctors and nurses who treated her as “fantastic” but branded the Prime Minister a “w*****”, saying a lockdown should have been put in place far earlier.

She and identical twin Doris Hobday, who at 96 were the UK’s oldest identical twins, were both rushed to hospital after contracting coronavirus.

But while Cox was discharged from Sandwell General Hospital two weeks later, her sister died on January 5.

Watch: One of Britain’s oldest identical twins Doris Hobday dies after contracting COVID

Speaking to the Sunday People, Cox said: “The nurses and doctors were fantastic but Boris is a bloody w*****.

“I think lockdown should have happened a lot earlier – then there would not have been half as many deaths.”

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She told the newspaper she did manage to speak to her sister — who she described as her best friend — by phone when they were in hospital and urged her to “fight for her life”

The sisters, known as the Tipton Twins, lived on the same street and later lived next door to each other in an assisted living complex.

They became household names in 2019 when they appeared on ITV’s This Morning and kept their 40,000 followers on social media regularly updated on their lives, including during lockdown when they formed a support bubble.

According to the Sunday People, Cox is now recovering at her daughter’s home in Dudley and has started a memorial fundraiser for the Beacon Centre for the Blind, which helped her sister’s late husband.

She said: “She’ll be remembered by thousands. I think we spread a lot of joy together.”

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