Jennifer Saunders reveals she didn't write viral Facebook post blaming NHS for lack of PPE

Jennifer Saunders has denied penning a Facebook post which blames the NHS for the PPE shortage.

The Absolutely Fabulous star, 61, said she didn't have anything to do with the post after a fan asked her about it on Twitter.

“Not me. Not by me,” she told her 657,000 followers. “The Official Jennifer Saunders Facebook page is not me. Please ignore.”

The post was shared by a group titled Jennifer Saunders fans, and is not affiliated with the Official Jennifer Saunders Facebook page, which has been inactive since 2015.

The lengthy rant, which is signed by Saunders at the end, makes several crude comments and claims about the NHS’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Describing those scrutinising the actions of the government and Prime Minister Boris Johnson as “crayon-eaters”, the post called NHS managers “lazy-a***” and “p***-poor”.

As well as attacking privately-run care homes, which have reported a lack of PPE, the post ended: “The government has made mistakes, but not as many as the media would have you believed.

“Instead of trying to pull this country together as it seeks to divide, we don’t need this at this crucial time.”

An investigation by BBC’s Panorama found the government had failed to stockpile a suitable amount of PPE ahead of a pandemic.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has since said the government has distributed more than a billion items of PPE.

Johnson is also focusing his efforts on making sure the NHS is adequately stocked having returned to office since recovering from the deadly Covid-19 virus.

Currently, the UK has 21,678 confirmed hospital deaths from coronavirus, with the toll only set to soar when the toll includes the deaths from care homes and in the community.