BY FREDDY GRAY
Sim I m. a Norfolk hospital are reportedly being bombarded with horrific images of aborted babies after prolife campaigner Edward Atkinson was banned from treatment.
Mr Atkinson, 74, was imprisoned and struck off a hip replacement waiting list for sending abortion pictures to the Queen Elizabeth hospital, King's Lynn. Two weeks ago, the pensioner was frogmarched off the premises after he asked for treatment on his eyes.
But the ban on Mr Atkinson has not stopped staff at the hospital receiving photographs of mutilated foetuses. Hospital staff have complained of a barrage of "hate mail". A spokesman told the local newspaper
Imin News that the material was often abusive.
Staff are being selected at random. They have received angry messages from Spanish e-mail addresses. accompanied with disturbing photo attachments.
The spokesman said that the hospital had notified police, and a tile of the emails would be handed over to officers in due course to be considered for prosecution.
But Jim Dow son, director of the UK Lifeleague, a prolife group, accused King's Lynn employees of "ridiculous hypocrisy".
He said: "It is such a tragedy that these people get upset about seeing abortion images, when they seem quite happy to work for a hospital that does carry out abortions."
Mr DOWSOlidenied that his
group, which campaigned vigorously on behalf of Mr Atkinson when he was in prison, was behind the new campaign.
"I should think the number of e-mails they have received has been greatly exaggerated. We're not doing it," he said.
Mr Add nson has been told he would only be treated at the QEH for life-threatening conditions.
At Swaffham Magistrates' Court last month he was also sentenced to 28 days in jail and given an anti-social' behaviour order, forbidding him from sending any more material. He was released from prison six days after the hearing because he had already served most of his sentence on remand while awaiting trial.
But last week Mr Atkinson, who is still awaiting a hip replacement, was told his eye appointment arranged before the court hearing had been cancelled in accordance with the trust's ban. Mr Atkinson suffers from cataracts.
After an argument between Mr Atkinson and hospital staff the 74-year-old pensioner was escorted out of the building and given another copy of the letter outlining the terms of the ban. Originally from London, Mr Atkinson, a lifelong Catholic, reportedly moved to Norfolk in 1978 to attend the traditional Masses celebrated by local priest Fr Oswald Baker.
Mr Atkinson describes himself as a "law-abiding citizen-. but he has been jailed for a number of criminal offences.