‘You wished old people dead because they voted Brexit’: Piers Morgan blasts Remainer Terry Christian over controversial tweet as GMB descends into shouting match
- Debate on whether Britain will be ‘finished’ after Brexit turned into a furious row
- ‘You wanted OAPs to die,’ Morgan raged at Christian, who said tweet was ‘a joke’
- Broadcaster insisted he still wanted Brexiteers to ‘suffer’ for ‘destroying’ the UK
Good Morning Britain descended into chaos this morning as Piers Morgan accused broadcaster Terry Christian of saying he wanted pensioners to die of the flu for voting Brexit.
Today’s debate on whether Britain is ‘finished’ because of Brexit turned into a shouting match when Morgan mentioned a tweet in which Christian said he hoped a ‘good virulent strain’ of flu would hit people who ‘voted to destroy our lives’.
‘You literally wanted OAPs to die,’ Morgan raged at the broadcaster, who claimed the tweet was a joke, before adding: ‘They don’t seem to mind the 120,000 people have died because of austerity. How many people are gonna die when we leave the EU?’
Today’s debate on whether Britain is ‘finished’ because of Brexit saw Piers Morgan row with broadcaster Terry Christian as Susanna Reid tried to calm everything down
‘You literally wanted OAPs to die,’ Morgan raged at Christian, (pictured) who claimed the tweet was a joke
His response didn’t satisfy the GMB presenter, who told the staunch Remainer: ‘You think it’s fine to wish OAPs dead in a flu virus? That’s a ridiculous thing to say.’
Christian replied: ‘We’re talking about will it destroy Britain. It already has.’
Doubling down, Morgan then read out another controversial tweet posted by Christian last week, which read: ‘Brexiteers deserve all the job losses and hardship heading their and their family’s way.
‘All those tough Christmases ahead for their kids, all their ‘short term pain’. But I will get behind it in future…by buying a big issue off the pitiable saps.’
After accusing Morgan of ‘fake moral outrage’, Christian said he still thought Brexiteers deserved to suffer hardship before claiming he deleted the tweet in case it offended Big Issue sellers.
He added: ‘People who, despite all the evidence, have voted to make their own lives and everybody else’s harder are [pitiable saps].’
The pair continued talking over each other, before Susanna Reid tried to bring the other guest, Tory MP Mark Francois, into the conversation.
‘I can’t hear anything anyone’s saying,’ she added. ‘Terry, if you would just be quiet for a moment I’d like to hear the tangible benefits from Mark Francois.’
A tweet in which Christian said Brexiteers deserved ‘hardship’ and losing their jobs because of the way they voted
In another inflammatory tweet, he suggest ‘only Remainers’ should receive the flu vaccine. The one in which he wished a ‘virulent strain’ on Brexiteers was deleted
The broadcaster also suggested a No Deal Brexit would lead to a shortage of vaccines, so Brexiteers should ‘step aside’ in favour of Remainers
But Morgan and Christian continued their slanging match.
‘You wished them dead because they wanted Brexit,’ Morgan said.
‘Don’t be so ridiculous, where have I said that.’
‘You literally tweeted it, I read it out.’
‘A virulent strain, that is wishing someone dead, it’s suffering.’
When Mark Francois was eventually able to join the conversation, he suggested Christian’s attitude was one of the reasons millions voted for Brexit.
‘Anyone at home eating their breakfast watching this can see from your attitude, you are a living embodiment of why people voted to leave EU,’ he said. ‘People don’t want to spend their lives being lectured by people like you.’
Christian replied: ‘I’m not lecturing them, I’m warning them I’m saying look at the evidence.’
Tory MP Mark Francois suggested Christian’s attitude was one of the reasons millions voted for Brexit