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Phillip Schofield clashed with Matt Hancock over âutterly bonkersâ changes to the lockdown rules as the health secretary was interviewed on This Morning.
The presenter made his frustrations about the governmentâs latest updates abundantly clear as he and co-host Holly Willoughby spoke to Hancock on Tuesday.
Phillip asked why people are having to choose between their parents when meeting someone from another household in a public space, following confirmation from the government it could only be one other person at a time.
âOne at a time. You can see one, then you can see the other, and thatâs fine.â Hancock suggested.
Phillip then asked if theoretically, you could see each parent separately, 10 minutes apart, to which Hancock said this would be permitted under the new rules.
âDonât you see that thatâs utterly bonkers?â Phillip replied.
âNo,â Hancock said. âIt is really important that the principle is, we donât want large groups of people gathering... You have to have a line somewhere.â
Phillip also tried to get the MP to admit that the initial messaging about changes to the lockdown rules was âconfusedâ, following the prime ministerâs TV address on Sunday night.
âDo you agree that yesterday the government confused us?â the presenter asked.
âWell I am here to try to make sure everybody understands as best as possible what we are trying to agree,â Hancock replied.
Repeating his question again, the health secretary then told Phillip: âWell, I think we were quite clear.â
Phillip then pointed out some of the confusion had come from the fact the prime minister appeared on TV before the 50-page document outlining the changes in full was released a day later.
âWasnât it just that it was the wrong way around?â he asked.
âI donât buy that,â Hancock said. âI have been talking to my constituents over the last couple of days about this, they get it.
âThey know what âstay alertâ means, we are trying to communicate the substance of the changes and what people need to do as clearly as possible, based on principles that people clearly get. We have to rely, all of us, on each otherâs common sense to get us through this.â
Phillip then criticised foreign secretary Dominic Raab for causing confusing with his appearances on the BBC on Monday, in which the minister wrongly suggested people could meet up outdoors with more than one person at a time.
He said: âWe think â hold on a second, they havenât got their hand on the tiller, they donât know what they are doing.â
Hancock replied: âWell, why donât you ask me the questions and we will get through it.â
Elsewhere in the interview, the MP admitted people may not be able to hug any friends or family they donât live with until a vaccine is found.
Hancockâs appearance on This Morning came after he was criticised by Piers Morgan, presenter of fellow ITV daytime show Good Morning Britain, for refusing to be interviewed.
Piers tweeted: âVery unlike Mr Hancock who normally has the balls to defend his decisions. Heâs obviously now lost them.
âDo you think it is right for the Health Secretary to boycott a major UK breakfast TV news show during the biggest health crisis for 100 years?
âWhy are @GMB viewers not worthy of your time & vital information which might save their lives?â
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.