Richard Bacon appears to have said he prefers Jeremy Hunt to Boris Johnson, despite the former’s previous stance on healthcare cuts.
The broadcaster, who was placed in a medically induced coma last year, said that, had Mr Hunt been granted his wish over cuts at University Hospital Lewisham in south-east London, he would have died.
However, Bacon – who says his life was saved by the NHS staff at the hospital – appeared to have suggested he would still rather see former health secretary Mr Hunt as prime minister than his rival in the Tory leadership race Mr Johnson.
Bacon posted on Instagram: “I’ll always remember the consultant telling me that I was moments from dying. And had Jeremy Hunt achieved his wish of closing down Lewisham Hospital, the extra journey time to the next A&E would have guaranteed Arthur and Ivy no longer had a dad.
“And I still prefer him to the other one.”
Bacon, 43, had fallen ill while flying to Britain from the US in July last year.
The radio and TV presenter, who has children Arthur and Ivy with his wife Rebecca, previously thanked the NHS staff at Lewisham Hospital for saving his life after being in a coma for six days.
In 2013, leading judges ruled that Mr Hunt did not have the power to implement cuts to Lewisham Hospital’s A&E and maternity departments.
Now the Foreign Secretary, Mr Hunt is competing to be the UK’s next prime minister against Mr Johnson.