British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is blind in his left eye, has been treated for two minor tears in the retina of the right eye in which he has limited vision, his office at Number 10 Downing Street said on Saturday, days before the start of the new, and possibly his toughest, parliamentary session.
The tears were detected during what his office called a “regular” test at the specialist Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. Brown lost the sight in his left eye playing rugby as a teenager. Surgeons managed to save the right eye but he has limited sight and needs regular check-ups.
Downing Street said he would not need surgery and his vision was not affected, adding: “His eyesight has not deteriorated and there is nothing to stop him getting on with the job.”
A spokesman declined to be drawn on whether Brown had undergone a non-surgical procedure such as laser treatment.
Brown told a US talkshow host last month that his eyesight was “not at all deteriorating,” after former Cabinet minister Charles Clarke suggested he might quit before the election on medical grounds.
In a statement, Downing Street said Brown “had his annual check-up, which was fine” in summer, but subsequently underwent further tests on his retina, which found two tears.
“However, as there has been no further deterioration, and no change in his eyesight, [surgeons] decided against further operations,” it said.
A spokesman declined to comment on whether Brown had suffered symptoms of a tear — which can include flashing lights or distorted vision — but said it was found during “regular” checks. Tests on Friday established Brown’s eyesight was “fine,” he said.
The risk of retinal tears increases with age and about 3 percent of adults above 40 in the UK experience them. They occur when the jelly-like vitreous humor at the back of the eye peels away from the retina, the light-sensitive tissue that lines the wall of the eye.
Tears serious enough to require treatment can be treated with lasers, cryotherapy (a “freezing” treatment), or surgery. Sources close to Brown said his treatment had been disclosed in order to be “upfront.”
The episode will be an unwelcome distraction in a critical week, with Brown potentially among about 300 ministers of parliament (MP) expected to receive a letter tomorrow querying aspects of their parliamentary expenses claims from auditor Thomas Legg, whom Brown asked to carry out an independent inquiry.
“There is a good chance that Gordon might have to pay back stuff from his cleaning bill,” a senior Labour party source said. “The rumor is that [Legg] is saying what is reasonable is the rule. The worst thing is that even if you have checked it with the Fees Office and they say it’s absolutely fine, he might say you still should pay it back.”
Brown will tell his MPs to “cooperate fully” with Legg at a meeting of the parliamentary party tonight. One insider admitted the mood could be “grim.”
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS