The former partner of a solicitor who refused the Covid-19 vaccine – then died with the disease – has spoken of her regret at his decision.
The national media has widely reported on the death of Dorset solicitor Leslie Lawrenson, 58, at his home last month. He had been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the weeks leading up to his death.
Much of the reporting has highlighted Lawrenson’s Facebook page, which features a number of videos in which he describes his condition and says he was experiencing flu-like symptoms. He described the vaccine as ‘experimental gene therapy’ and said there was no way his son would receive it.
In a post from 24 June, he had said: ‘The idea that we have to be afraid of this bogeyman, this Covid, that somehow it is some monster – we have got to get over this… the government is taking advantage of the fear and there is absolutely in my view no reason to lock down.’
He went on to say that the ‘potential dangers from taking the experimental jab’ were ‘not worth that risk’ and that ‘I would rather take my chances with my immune system’.
His story appears to have come to light a day ago when his partner Amanda Mitchell spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live to say Lawrenson had made a ‘terrible mistake’ and 'paid the ultimate price'.
She said: ‘It was a daily thing that he said to us: ‘You don’t need to have it, you’ll be fine, just be careful.’ He said to me: ‘It’s a gene thing, an experimental thing. You’re putting something in your body that hasn’t been thoroughly tested.’
'Les was highly educated… so if he told me something, I tended to believe it.’
Lawrenson was a Cambridge University graduate who was admitted as a solicitor 30 years ago. The Find a Solicitor service lists him as a sole practitioner with Lawrenson Solicitors, based in Dorset.
