Phillip Schofield brutally dismantles government’s new coronavirus advice in sweary rant – and he doesn’t hold back
Gay TV presenter Phillip Schofield echoed the anger and confusion felt by Britons after Boris Johnson’s coronavirus address was accused of being vague. (Screen capture via ITV)
Phillip Schofield delivered a brutal broadside against the British government’s new coronavirus guidelines, saying he’s “cross” with premier Boris Johnson and has been “tipped over the edge”.
The gay This Morning co-presenter castigated the Johnson administration’s new marketing message – “Stay alert” – alongside the ginger relaxations the prime minister launched Sunday, many of which critics have said were unclear.
In a sweary rant on May 11, the 58-year-old called the announcement “astonishing”, and pleaded: “What it is that you actually want us to to do?”
@BorisJohnson “has made us cross”. #BorisHasFailedBritain pic.twitter.com/zSWcU0169O
— Alan Mearns (@alanmearns1) May 11, 2020
Phillip Schofield on government’s coronavirus advice: “This has just tipped us over the edge today.’
“We now lack clarity,” Schofield began.
“I understood until last night at seven o’clock, I understood where we were going, I understood what was happening.
“Now I don’t understand and now I don’t know what’s happening.”
“I mean you literally couldn’t write this,” Schofield continued, addressing co-presenter Holly Willoughby during the ITV1 daytime talkshow.
“If this was in a farce on the telly I’d go: ‘That’s a bit far-fetched, no government would a** it up that much.’
Holly Willoughby, stunned into silence, as Philip Schofield tears into Boris Johnson and his cabinet’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. (Screen capture via ITV)
“It is utterly astonishing. We’ve been really level on here [This Morning], I think we’ve been really sensible I think on here but this has just tipped us over the edge today.”
Phillip Schofield called on the government to clarify changes to the coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
“Somebody, maybe, would come on the show and explain what it is that you actually want us to to do,” he said.
“What are we allowed to do? Are you genuinely saying that we can only meet one parent?”
“[Johnson] made us cross today,” he added.
Britain plunged into confusion as Boris Johnson announces unclear lockdown guidelines.
On Sunday, a nation paralysed by anxiety watched Johnson issue an address meant to serve as a blueprint for the next phase of the government’s response to the pandemic.
The pre-recorded video saw Johnson urge the public to “stay alert”, softening his earlier “stay home” marketing slogan.
A slew of sluggishly staggered relaxation of the lockdown were then announced by the prime minister, many of which have come under criticism for being, they say, muddled.
British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. (Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)
This vagueness risked confusion, captured as footage of workers stuffing train carriages went viral this morning after Johnson said they “should” go to work if possible.
While lawmakers offered contradicting advice, intensifying the chaos.
Dominic Raab’s bungled and conflicting coronavirus advice attracts criticism.
Foreign security Dominic Raab added to the dizzying confusion felt among Britons after changing his lockdown advice three times within one hour Monday morning, Metro.co.uk reported.
He began by telling Sky News that the government is “looking into” whether the public can have limited contact with one another beyond the household walls. Raab said government is cautiously listening to advice from SAGE scientists.
Yet, moments later, he conflictingly told BBC Breakfast that an individual can meet two people from another household.
“If you’re two metres apart and use some common sense you can meet up with other people,” he said.
Asked if that could mean their “mum in the morning and their dad in the afternoon”, Raab said as long as everyone was “outside, in the outdoors, yes”.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab arrives at Downing Street on the day after UK passed Italy on the Coronavirus death toll and now has the highest number in Europe. (Erica Dezonne/PX Images/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
He subsequently told the Today programme you may even be able to meet both parents at the same time, “if they’re two metres apart.”
Downing Street representatives were forced to clarify this is not the case, insisting only two individuals from separate households can meet.
All the while political fissures ripped open within the UK, as both Scottish and Welsh leaders voiced their opposition to the new guidelines.
With 31,855 reported deaths from the virus, the UK has the largest death toll in Europe and the second-largest in the world. Eclipsed only by the US.
