Harrowing final photo of dad who lost his Covid battle while Boris Johnson celebrated

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David Jackson and his sisters Sally and Wendy had abided by Covid rules and were not allowed into the home of their Norman and ailing mother Christine as both’s health began to deteriorate

A son who lost his father to Covid at the height of the pandemic has blasted Boris Johnson and the Government for their shameful partying.

In April 2020, David Jackson snapped this heartbreaking picture of his father Norman just minutes before he died after a battle with lung cancer.

David and his sisters Sally and Wendy had abided by Covid rules and were not allowed into the home of Norman and their ailing mother Christine in Wickford, Essex, as both’s health began to fail.

David, a keen photographer, decided to take his father’s last picture as he lay in his hospital bed in Basildon, Essex.

So far he has not shown the picture to anyone.

But after the Sue Gray report, which highlighted loud partying in Number 10 while the rest of the nation followed Boris Johnson’s rules, David, 61, had had enough.

“That was his last day, he died minutes later,” David told the Mirror.

“I know he would have given me full support to take this picture.

“I kept this photo to myself but after recent events I wanted to share it.

“He died within a few minutes of the recording.”

David traveled down from his home in Huddersfield to help his sisters with their parents’ illness.

“My mother has been suffering from poor health for some time and my father was her caregiver,” he said.

“Carers didn’t want us in the house because of the Covid restrictions.

“They finally gave in so we could spend some quality time with our parents.

“But we couldn’t have who we wanted at our father’s funeral, we couldn’t say goodbye to our amazing father the way we wanted.

“We played by the rules and then Boris Johnson and his gang celebrated.

“I am now over the emotional side of my father’s death. Now it’s just anger.

“Anger at how we did what we were asked when he died, while those who made the rules happily broke them on a regular basis.

“It’s just not right. That is not right. I’m not the kind of person to vent or want to go public, but it just did for me.

“I saw the report on Wednesday and that was it, I just wanted to tell our story.”

He said Norman, 85, is a “really special person” who has worked hard as chief health inspector to provide for his family.

“He always took care of us and our mother,” he said.

“My father was a very stoic, strict man who never talked about people behind their backs. An honest man who would say it to your face.”

When asked what his father would have thought of Boris and his parties, he said: “He would be incredibly upset at the unfairness of it all. Because it is – it’s just unfair.”