Piers Morgan, 54, and Good Morning Britain co-host Charlotte Hawkins, 45, interviewed Michael Gove, 52, today to get some answers on the Government’s latest action to tackle the spread of COVID-19. With ambiguity about whether some jobs are classed as essential or not and the worry about travelling to work, the host wanted to get some clarity on the situation. However, he ended up persistently asking the politician to give a clear cut answer as he believed he didn’t get the result viewers were hoping for about the UK lockdown to combat coronavirus.
One of the main trades feeling the impact of the lockdown announced by Johnson, 55, is the construction and building industry, with workers unsure as to whether they should be completing jobs.
Although some building infrastructure is essential, the presenter wanted to understand if people should still be attending jobs in private properties.
Gove presided to give the answer he believed was adequate, stating builder should still turn up to construction sites if they’re out in the open or if a private property is vacant and essential work needs to be done.
It seemed to contradict the statement he made to Susanna Reid, 49, about whether children could see their parents if they’re a part of a separate family set-up, to which he said youngsters should in the home they’re currently residing in.
Morgan believed he wasn’t getting the clarity he wanted and slammed the politician for not clearing up the issue for many viewers.
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After hearing Gove’s stance, which left many viewers getting mixed signals, Morgan said: “I’ve got to say, this construction issue is blowing up.
“During this interview with you, it is blowing up. People do not feel they have the clarity,” the host declared.
“And there’s this one guy who says, ‘It’s fine for a group of builders to be in a building doing their normal work but a dad can’t go to his kids house that they live in.’
“I mean, this is the confusion, people are saying how can that be right?” the host asked on behalf of the viewers.
“If you’re not doing absolutely critical, essential building for the national fight against coronavirus, why would you be encoring a bunch of builders across the country to go and congregate together when you’re telling fathers or mothers, who are currently separated from their kids, that they may not be able to see them for weeks or months on end?” Morgan stated.
Gove replied: “No decisions are easy here.
“It’s important to look at what other countries have done which have sought to restrict and managed to reduce the spread of the virus.
“In other countries, it is the case construction work and essential manufacturing is continuing, so we’re in line with what other countries are doing.”
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The politician added: “It’s also the case emotional difficult decisions have been made by other Governments as we have made to ensure unnecessary social contact is restricted.”
However, Gove also appeared on BBC Breakfast where he admitted he did not give clarity on Good Morning Britain today and rebuked what he said about contact between children and parents.
Taking to Twitter after finding out about the contradiction, Morgan wrote a post in view of his 7.2 million followers.
“We need urgent clarity from the Govt. about @michaelgove’s announcement on @GMB re children moving between separated parents’ homes as it directly contradicts current Govt. advice post @BorisJohnson speech last night.”
Gove replied following his interview with the BBC and said: “I wasn’t clear enough earlier, apologies.
“To confirm – while children should not normally be moving between households, we recognise that this may be necessary when children who are under 18 move between separated parents.
“This is permissible & has been made clear in the guidance,” he concluded.
According to the latest figures, there have now been 6,650 confirmed cases of coronavirus reported, with 335 deaths across the UK.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
