Piers Morgan has hit out at Laurence Fox for holding a large gathering in spite of national coronavirus restrictions in place banning them.
The Good Morning Britain presenter took down the controversial actor as he reacted to a tweet Laurence posted over the weekend, bragging about having a “large group” over for lunch, where they “hugged, ate and put the world to rights”.
Speaking on Monday’s edition of the ITV breakfast show, Piers called Laurence’s actions “ridiculous” saying it “epitomises the attitude of a small minority of people in this country who just don’t think this virus is for them”.
Claiming Laurence’s behaviour during the pandemic had been “increasingly reckless”, he said: “You know what Laurence? Why don’t you just shut up? Seriously. Why don’t you think about the NHS, think about these heroic people who right now in hospitals all around the country are continuing to try and save lives of complete strangers who have Covid-19, this lethal virus.
“Think about all the people who can’t see their loved ones in care homes because they are abiding by the rules, who would like to hug them and hold their hands. They don’t want to kill their parents or grandparents.
“Think about all the people who are making these decisions everyday not for themselves and their desire to just carry on life as normal, but for other people because they actually care about other people.
“I just found that a ridiculous tweet and it epitomises the attitude of a small minority of people in this country who just don’t think this virus is for them,” Piers continued. “They just don’t understand why they can’t carry on partying and breaking every rule in the process.
“To which I say, it’s not just about you, it’s about other people. The most vulnerable people in our society. Elderly people, sick people, people who have already got underlying conditions. It is to stop them being killed. That is what this is about. Not about you.”
Issuing a plea to the former Lewis actor, Piers added: “Think what you are doing. You have 250,000 followers. Hanging on your every word. You tweet garbage like that. It’s ridiculous.”
On Sunday, Laurence had posted on Twitter: “Just had a large group over to lunch and we hugged and ate and talked and put the world to rights. It was lovely.
“You’ll never take that away from people. Stay out. Protect your rights. If the @nhs can’t cope, then the @nhs isn’t fit for purpose. Compliance is violence.”
Piers had previously tweeted a reaction to Laurence’s post, writing: “This is such a pathetically selfish kick in the teeth to everyone working in the NHS, many of whom have lost colleagues to the virus. Shame on you Laurence.”
Piers’ co-host Susanna Reid agreed that his actions were dangerous, adding on GMB: “Compliance isn’t violence, compliance is compassion.”
Many other social media users also condemned Laurence for his irresponsibility.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
