A group of Conservative Wiltshire councillors were among the crowd of Rishi Sunak supporters who laughed at a joke about GPs during the General Election campaign.

The Prime Minister was speaking at a rally in Wiltshire on Friday, June 7, when he was interrupted by a GP who claimed the NHS was “disintegrating.”

Five Wiltshire councillors were filmed in the crowd with Rishi Sunak, as well as Chippenham MP Michelle Donelan.  

The GP, who is believed to be Dr Jane Lees-Millais, said: “37,000 GPs will not vote Conservative because of the constructive dismissal of general practice that is currently occurring.

“You cannot employ lesser qualified people instead of GPs, they cannot be replaced.

“The country is not stupid, they know when lesser qualified people are being used to conduct consultations which are massively complex."

She was then heckled by a man who shouted: "most GPs spend more time on holiday than in the surgery, love.”

Rishi Sunak laughed at this comment, which also appeared to amuse Councillors Phil Alford, Mike Sankey, Jonathon Seed, Edward Kirk and Ashley O’Neill.

All parties were contacted for comment, but no response was received.

Cllr Phil Alford is the cabinet member for housing on Wiltshire Council, whilst Cllr Ashley O’Neill is the cabinet member for Governance, IT, Broadband, Digital, and Staffing.

Wiltshire Council’s Lib Dem leader, Ian Thorn, said: “It’s hard to know where to start with Rishi Sunak’s gaff-prone campaign.

“His behaviour towards a GP in Wiltshire underlines the contempt the Tories have for our health service.

“He is proving to be a huge embarrassment and that could be plainly seen in the faces of the Wiltshire Councillors standing with him.

Responding to the doctor at the rally, Rishi Sunak told her that his father was a GP and his mother was a pharmacist.

He said: “Whilst we are supporting GPs – and actually right now supporting them with investment in digital telephony, to make sure that we can make it easier to get access to them – we are also making it easier for people to see other primary care practitioners to get the treatments they need and that's where I will respectfully disagree with you.

"Because I do think it is right that people can now see their pharmacist to get medicines for seven common ailments, like sore throats, ear infections and sinusitis.

“That is an example of something we are doing that is making it easier for people to get the care they need."