U.K. lawmaker returns to work as ‘the bionic MP’

Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay returns to work after sepsis, amputation, vows to raise awareness and improve NHS prosthetics.

Britain's fractious politicians shared a rare moment of unity on May 22 when a Conservative lawmaker returned to work six months after sepsis put him in a coma and forced the amputation of his hands and feet.

As Conservative legislator Craig Mackinlay walked unaided into the House of Commons before the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session, government and opposition lawmakers alike rose in a standing ovation.

“As you know, we don’t allow clapping," Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said as Mr. Mackinlay's wife and four-year-old daughter watching from the public gallery. "But this is an exception.”

Mr. Mackinlay, 57, said he wants to be known as “the bionic MP.” He plans to campaign for greater awareness of the signs of sepsis, and for Britain’s state-funded National Health Service, which treated him and saved his life, to offer better treatment and prosthetics to people who have lost more than one limb.

Addressing his fellow lawmakers in the Commons chamber, Mr. Mackinlay thanked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Mr. Hoyle for visiting him while he was in the hospital. Referring to the speaker's formal black tailcoat, he joked that “the rest of the hospital thought I must be dreadfully ill, because they said that guy’s got the funeral director in already.”

He asked Mr. Sunak to ensure the health service would “embed recognition of early signs of sepsis.”

“If we can stop somebody ending up like this, I would say that is a job well done," Mr. Mackinlay said.