Politics

Jeremy Hunt’s baby sister drowned in the bath as he sat next to her aged two


JEREMY Hunt was in the bath with his baby sister Sarah when she drowned in a horrific family tragedy, it emerged today.

The Foreign Secretary, then a toddler, told his nanny “Sarah’s asleep” when she came back in to the bathroom.

 Jeremy Hunt has opened up about his family tragedy

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Jeremy Hunt has opened up about his family tragedyCredit: Reuters
 The Foreign Secretary pictured with wife Lucia and two of their children

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The Foreign Secretary pictured with wife Lucia and two of their childrenCredit: Getty – Contributor

Frantic attempts to revive ten-month-old Sarah were unsuccessful and she tragically died.

Mr Hunt revealed the heartbreaking family history for the first time in an interview last night as he battles to beat Boris Johnson in the Tory leadership race.

He said he was too young to remember it but admitted that his parents had been scarred by Sarah’s death.

The inquest into the terrible accident was reported in the Kensington Post in March 1969.

It described how nanny Dianne Brady went to prepare dinner in the kitchen while two-and-half-year-old Jeremy and Sarah were both in the bath.

When she returned to the bathroom five minutes later, she found the baby lying face upwards and Jeremy said: “Sarah’s asleep.”

At the inquest, Mr Hunt’s father Nicholas defended the nanny from any suggestion of wrongdoing, saying: “We think she’s absolutely marvellous and both children absolutely adored her.”

FAMILY NIGHTMARE

Last night the Foreign Secretary confirmed the secret family heartache when it was put to him by ITV’s Robert Peston during an interview on his politics show.

Mr Hunt, 52, said: “I don’t talk about that normally and actually I wouldn’t say that this is something that has affected me emotionally, because she was just a few months old when she died in a terrible accident and I was too young to ever remember it.

“But I do know it affected my parents.”

The underdog leadership contender has never publicly discussed the family tragedy, despite serving nine years in the Cabinet and 14 as an MP.

But he said it didn’t prey on him as he grew up or in later life.

Former Health Secretary Mr Hunt said: “Well, I was only two years old, so it’s not something that I have any memories of, but, as I say, I do know it affected my parents.

“Maybe when I met people who had lost children, it brought something out of me. But I wouldn’t claim this had a big effect on me personally.”

It comes as Mr Hunt continues to fight for his place in Number 10 when Theresa May leaves on July 22.

His popularity against frontrunner Mr Johnson has soared since the second round of the Tory leadership contest.

The two contestants are facing each other tonight in another hustings in Bournemouth – the second to take place in front of an audience of Conservative Party members.

Cabinet minister Mr Hunt is the eldest son of senior Royal Navy officer Admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt and his wife Meriel.

He was raised in Shere, Surrey, and was head boy at his public school Charterhouse, and now has three young children of his own.

 Jeremy Hunt's father, Admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt

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Jeremy Hunt’s father, Admiral Sir Nicholas HuntCredit: PA
 The local newspaper report into the death of Jeremy Hunt's sister

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The local newspaper report into the death of Jeremy Hunt’s sisterCredit: BPM MEDIA
 The Foreign Secretary is on the campaign trail with wife Lucia this week

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The Foreign Secretary is on the campaign trail with wife Lucia this weekCredit: Bournemouth News
 The Hunt family at a wedding in 2012

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The Hunt family at a wedding in 2012Credit: Getty – Contributor
 Mr Hunt with one of his own children

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Mr Hunt with one of his own childrenCredit: Getty – Contributor


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