A NURSE from Odiham near Basingstoke has been fired by her company for saying on television that ‘Tory voters don’t deserve to be resuscitated’, according to a national newspaper. 

Miranda Hughes, 46, said she had been fired by her employer HCML, a private health care provider based in south London.

The Daily Mail reported that she confirmed that she had not read the staff handbook which said she couldn’t appear on television.

Mrs Hughes made the remarks during a live TV debate on Channel 5 on Monday night, which sparked outrage among many viewers and social media users.

In the show, named Britain on The Brink, hosted by Jeremy Vine, she said: “If you voted Conservative you don't deserve to be resuscitated by the NHS.”

In an interview given to Daily Mail later, Mrs Hughes, a former NHS nurse, said she deserved to be fired for the comments that has led to her being vilified.

“I said what I said in the heat of the moment,” the mother-of-one told the national newspaper.

In the interview with the Daily Mail, she continued: “I was very angry and should not have said what I did, but I was so angry that it just got the better of me.

“I do regret what I said and of course I would never not resuscitate anyone. I would not even know their political beliefs. I have treated people from mayor’s the lowest in society.

“I should not have said what I said. It was a ridiculous thing to say, it really was."

She made the remark while explaining to Mr Vine about her decision to quit the NHS for the private sector.

“I could not handle the emotional stress of not being able to deliver for my patients,' she said.

“When you sign up to be a nurse, you sign up to put the patient at the forefront of everything you do.

“You are squeezed to the point where you cannot treat people, the way you need to treat them.

“And it eats you up, because you are there to do a job as a compassionate person, there are no resources.

“And you are told consistently on the news that care homes are being ring fenced, it's a lie.

“And I am sorry but if you have voted Conservative you do not deserve to be resuscitated by the NHS.

“I know that is harsh, that is harsh, but I'm looking at these gentlemen and it has made me so angry.”

When Mr Vine asked her if she meant what she said, she replied: “No, of course I would, of course I would.

“But it is appalling the way we have been treated. All nurses have been slapped in the face.”

Mrs Hughes told Daily Mail that she was contacted by her employer soon after the clip went viral and told she was being fired for breaching her contract.

She was working as a rehabilitation case manager.

The company has also issued a statement on Twitter, in which it said: “The opinions expressed by the individual are their own personal views and do not represent those of the company.

“The company has policies which determine the permissibility of comments made by employees in the media, or on social media, and we will be investigating the extent to which the comments in question breached those policies.

“If a breach is found to have occurred then appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.”