Piers Morgan slammed the Prime Minister’s lockdown plans announced last night as ‘complete nonsense’ as he returned to Good Morning Britain today after a week off sick.
Last night Boris Johnson urged the nation to return to work and eased several lockdown measure, but asked Britons to continue social distancing from friends and family.
Piers Morgan returned to work this morning after displaying mild Covid-19 symptoms and taking last week off to recuperate He took a test for the disease, but it came back negative.
Sitting alongside long-time co-host Susanna Reid, the GMB presenters gave a withering assessment of the new measures outlined by the Prime Minister, and Piers said Boris Johnson’s new ‘stay alert’ slogan was ‘complete nonsense’.
Piers said: ‘I feel extremely frustrated by what I watched last night. I don’t know where it leaves us, and also I don’t understand the sequence of events here.
Sitting alongside long-time co-host Susanna Reid, the GMB presenters gave a withering assessment of the new measures outlined by the Prime Minister, and Piers said Boris Johnson’s new ‘stay alert’ slogan was ‘complete nonsense’
‘Boris Johnson clears 15 minutes of prime time television to address the nation and you expect when you get that amount of time on a Sunday night at 7pm you get loads of great detail which clears everything up.
‘Instead we just got a load of his usual flim flam, bluster, his bellicose fist-pumping rhetoric. I want to actually get to the detail. I don’t know where it leaves us!’
Susannah Reid added she would have been happier for them to clear 30 minutes of the prime time schedule and the Prime Minister had gone into much more detail.
She added: ‘Last night I think a lot of people, yes there was detail on going back to work for the manufacturing and construction industries but a lot of people were thinking when can I see my family again. I just want a little bit of comfort, a little bit of hope, that I can perhaps see a friend.’
Piers Morgan led anger at Boris Johnson’s easing of lockdown restrictions this evening, after the PM failed to mention when families would be allowed to reunite
Displaying his exasperation with the new set of rules Piers said he would be allowed to sit in his park with ‘thousands of complete strangers’ at a two metre-distance but can’t see his sons who live ten minutes away from him.
In a segment with Dr Hilary, Piers went on to slam the new ‘stay alert’ slogan unveiled by the Prime Minister last night.
He said: “Control the virus when we don’t even have a vaccine. It’s complete nonsense, it’s almost like he’s back to fighting a brexit campaign again.”
Piers asked Hilary: “We have no control over this until we have a vaccine, right?” to which he agreed.
Mr Morgan also goaded Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and told him to ‘grow a pair’ after the government refused to put anyone up for the programme this morning.
It comes after the PM announced that, from Wednesday, people will be allowed to exercise outside for as long as they want, sunbathe in parks, play sports and even drive to any location.
He also said non-essential staff should go back into work if they can’t work from home – though he urged them to avoid public transport.
However, Mr Johnson failed to mention any easing of restrictions to visiting friends and family who live in different households.
The conflicting advice led to fury online, with devastated Britons questioning why they are expected to mix with work colleagues and sunbathe and exercise with strangers while avoiding loved ones.
Piers Morgan led the criticism, claiming that the new rules ‘make no sense’.
He wrote: ‘So, the Prime Minister is urging millions of non-essential workers to go out to work – but also telling people we still can’t see family or friends even if we maintain the same social distancing rules as non-essential workers at work?
‘Makes no sense. I can drive 100s of miles to sunbathe alongside complete strangers on a beach, maintaining 2m distance – but not see my parents? This is ridiculous.
‘I haven’t seen two of my sons for 10 weeks. They live 10 minutes away, next to a large common. Am I allowed to go and see them, if I stay 2 metres away? The answer appears to be no, yet I can see 1000s of strangers a day in my local park if I stay 2m away
‘Do I have to get my sons & myself temporary jobs on a building site so I can see them?’
Piers wasn’t the only once angered by the Prime Minister’s speech, with people all over the country commenting.
One person said: ‘Can’t see my boyfriend, friends or family yet but I can go to work but I shouldn’t take public transport to get there ?? Ok Boris.’
A second said: ‘So nothing is mentioned about friends and family again?! And he wonders why people are not sticking to lockdown.
‘Jesus throw us a bone over here. Almost 2 months!!!
While a third wrote: ‘Boris Johnson, so one thing you didn’t mention.. When can we see our family again? We can go and chill in the park, sit on benches in the sun and some can go to work.. but we can’t see our loved ones?’
A father wrote: ‘So I can’t see family, I can teach a class of kids but distanced, I can’t send my son to nursery as it’s closed and he can’t go to his grandparents but it’s okay, I can play sport with him!’
Mr Johnson said in his speech this evening: ‘From this Wednesday, we want to encourage people to take more and even unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise.
‘You can sit in the sun in your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports but only with members of your own household.
‘You must obey the rules on social distancing and to enforce those rules we will increase the fines for the small minority who break them.’
The National Trust said it was reviewing plans for reopening sites following Boris Johnson’s speech.
‘Following the Prime Minister’s broadcast outlining the Government’s gradual road map out of lockdown, we will begin to review its effect on our reopening plans,’ a spokeswoman said.
Last week, the trust said it was working on plans to reopen sites, which have been shut to the public since March 24.
Though some will celebrate the news, others have reacted with alarm at the PM’s announcement.
Cumbria’s tourism board tweeted: ‘We are shocked by the timing and short notice of tonight’s announcement. We are awaiting further details but the safety of residents must come first.
‘For now, tourism businesses in Cumbria remain closed and we urge everyone to continue to £StayHome.’