Evening Press Leader

Fire bomber Barry Horne is now taking fluids in his room at York District Hospital. It is a fact that will stick in the craw of most observers.

Horne was rushed to the hospital from prison after withdrawing his Living Will, a document that forbade medical intervention during his hunger strike. The prisoner is now in a bed that could and should have contained an innocent victim of illness or accident. He is receiving expert care from a medical team whose time would be better spent healing those who have not harmed themselves.

Horne's emergency admission has helped to delay other treatments. His selfish behaviour, supposedly designed to draw attention to the suffering of animals, has instead contributed directly to the suffering of people.

This criminal's regular fasts are little more than a sustained effort to bolster his profile. His 1998 stay in hospital cost the taxpayer £11,000. Now he is taking up valuable National Health Service resources at a time when it cannot cope with genuine demand.

Many people have waited in pain for months to receive the sort of attention Barry Horne commanded at a moment's notice. It is an unpalatable thought that their anguish is less of a priority than Horne's self-inflicted impairment.

NHS doctors regularly make decisions about whether to treat seriously ill patients or let nature take its course. It is tempting to suggest they do the latter with Horne. But this is treacherous moral ground. He is not in immediate danger and medical staff have a duty of care towards him.

The blame for the misery caused by his actions lies with Horne and Horne alone.

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