Matthew Johnson, 25, has said his childhood was taken from him after his mother falsely claimed he was seriously ill for years, subjecting him to unnecessary medical treatment. Lisa Hayden-Johnson was jailed in 2010 for three years and three months after admitting cruelty and perverting the course of justice.
Speaking to the BBC, Matthew said: “I do think that my childhood was taken from me and that’s something that you can’t go back to, so it is difficult to process.”
Mother rejected 'most evil mum' label
His story is revisited in the documentary Love You To Death, which features medics from NHS Torbay, social workers, Devon police and his mother. In the first episode, aired on Wednesday (August 19), Hayden-Johnson rejected the ‘most evil mum’ label used in coverage of the case.
She said: “I’ve never had the opportunity to [tell her story]. The newspaper articles are so incorrect. How can I be ‘Britain’s Most Evil Mother?’ The only thing I was guilty of was putting my son first and fighting his battle, which is what I did. And I don’t regret that.”
Matthew said hearing his mother’s comments confirmed he had made the right decision to cut ties with her. He has not been in touch with Hayden-Johnson for two years and said it “puts it to rest that I’ve made the right decision for me and my future”.
Years of false claims and unnecessary procedures
Matthew was born prematurely and initially needed medical support before making a full recovery. But for the next six years, his mother continued to insist he was seriously unwell. She claimed he suffered from conditions including diabetes, food allergies, cerebral palsy and cystic fibrosis, as well as saying he was allergic to sunlight.
Matthew visited doctors and hospitals hundreds of times and underwent invasive medical procedures and treatment for illnesses he did not have. He was also made to use mobility aids including a wheelchair and carry oxygen. Looking back, he said he did not remember feeling unwell but had “quite of lot of medication” and even underwent surgery.
He said: “It feels that so many things were declared wrong with me, it was hard to identify with one of them.” He added that his mother said he had difficulty breathing, and “there were times she said I was damaged by sunlight and had to wear special glasses and when I needed mobility support, whether a stroller a walker or a wheelchair”.
The illnesses he was said to have “seemed contradictory”, he said, and “it felt like a trail of different ones, there wasn’t anything that seemed permanent.”
Public attention and eventual discovery
The claims surrounding Matthew’s health brought him significant public attention. He appeared on television and met high-profile figures including then-prime minister Tony Blair and the then Duchess of Cornwall, now Queen Camilla. His mother successfully nominated him for a Children of Courage award while also claiming around £20,000 a year in benefits and receiving free holidays including cruises.
Doctors eventually became suspicious about Matthew’s symptoms, and he was due to attend a hospital assessment. To avoid the appointment, Hayden-Johnson falsely told police she had been sexually assaulted and was reported to have injured herself to create physical evidence for the claim. Police later found holiday footage showing Matthew running around in swimming trunks on a cruise despite the serious health and mobility problems his mother had claimed he suffered from, which led to her imprisonment.
Taking part in Love You To Death, Matthew said he learned more about his childhood he struggled to understand before. He told the BBC: “You can’t really fathom it, it’s a really difficult thing to explain, It’s such an extraordinary situation, I think it definitely impacted me, it’s such a key stage of development.”
As he grew older, relatives were careful about the information they told him, he said: “They didn’t want to tell me too early to take me away from the normal life that I was living, but also they didn’t want to tell me at a point where I wouldn’t fully understand.” He said he processed what happened “from things that I had read, from things that people had told me,” adding: “I’ve just got on with what I’ve been doing. I’ve looked ahead and didn’t want to seek the past because it’s not a place that I want to visit. So I’ve always just cracked on with what I want to do for the future.”
