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Piers Morgan has hit out at the Government for again failing to put forward a minister to face important questions on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (GMB). The GMB co-host along with Susanna Reid, 49, claimed the Prime Minister had refused to make a member of his Government available for interview for the past 21 days.
Last night ahead of Tuesday Morning’s broadcast, Mr Morgan wrote on Twitter: “UPDATE: The Govt has once again refused to put any minister up for an interview on GMB tomorrow.
“This will be the 21st day of its boycott of our show during the worst national crisis since WW2.
“All because we asked them tough questions.
“We’ll keep asking them.”
The 55-year-old also tagged Boris Johnson in the post on social media – however, no member of the Prime Minister’s cabinet made an appearance on the show this morning.
Last month a number of members of Government appeared on the ITV show including Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Care Minister Helen Whately.
Mr Morgan was involved in a series of heated exchanges with the pair after growing frustrated at the lack of clear cut answers.
The interviews received more than 2,000 complaints to the regulator Ofcom.
The Health Secretary appeared on the breakfast show on April 16 and was involved in a fierce row with Mr Morgan over how prepared the UK was for the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Morgan accused Mr Hancock of dodging questions over the availability of ventilators, meanwhile, the Health Secretary hit out at the GMB co-host for refusing to let him respond.
Mr Morgan said: “Do you know what? Stop playing that game with me Mr Hancock.
“With the greatest respect to you, you’re just buying yourself a bit of time and the reality is when you got up and said you were properly prepared, that actually, I would admire you more if you just admitted you weren’t prepared – rather like Emmanuel Macron has admitted they weren’t prepared.
“But your resolute refusal to concede that you made any mistakes here, that grates with me and I also think that misjudges the public mood to quote your phrase.”
An agitated Mr Hancock then said: “Yes, I am now going to answer the previous question and then that question and then you are not going to interrupt me.
“Let me speak because that is the purpose.”
The GMB co-host then hit back and said: “You don’t actually run this show, I will actually let you answer the questions, go on.”
A day earlier on April 15, Care Minister Helen Whately was challenged on the number of coronavirus deaths in care homes and accused of laughing during the interview – something she denied.
Mr Morgan said: “Is it true that 4,000 people have died in care homes yes or no? What’s really important is that you answer straight questions.
“Is it true that 4,000…why are you laughing? What do you find funny about this?”
The MP for Faversham and Mid Kent categorically denied she was laughing or found the awful subject a laughing matter.
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She responded by saying: “I don’t think it’s funny in the slightest.”
Ofcom received 1,981 complaints about Mr Morgan’s interview with Ms Whately on 15 April and a further 600 following the exchange with the Health Secretary a day later
Piers Morgan was not investigated by the media regulator, Ofcom said: “viewers would expect him to challenge senior politicians and hold them to account”.
In a statement, Ofcom said: “His guests were given adequate opportunity to put their points across and counter the presenter’s criticisms.
“In Ofcom’s view, in line with freedom of expression, it is clearly in the public interest that broadcasters are able to hold those making political decisions to account, particularly during a major national crisis, such as the coronavirus pandemic.”
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