Phillip Schofield Divides Opinion With 'Dyslexia' Jibe During Matt Hancock Interview

Some viewers applauded Phil for putting the former health secretary on the spot, while others accused him of "ableism".
Phillip Schofield and Matt Hancock
Phillip Schofield and Matt Hancock
ITV

Phillip Schofield raised eyebrows during Tuesday morningโ€™s edition of This Morning, with a question to Matt Hancock about the former health secretaryโ€™s breach of social distancing guidelines earlier this year.

During the live broadcast, Phil and his co-host Holly Willoughby interviewed the MP about his calls for children to be screened for dyslexia โ€“ a condition Hancock was diagnosed with during his time at university โ€“ before they start secondary school.

However, the presenter couldnโ€™t resist a dig at the scandal Hancock found himself in over the summer, when he was pictured kissing an aide in his office, breaking social distancing measures in the process.

Putting the former cabinet minister on the spot, Phil questioned: โ€œWas it your dyslexia that meant you misread the social distancing rules?โ€

โ€œNo, I canโ€™t blame that on dyslexia or anything else,โ€ Hancock stated. โ€œIn fact, I am not asking for any special favours because I am dyslexic.

โ€œIn politics I have got some things to offer. In that case, that was a mistake and I have apologised for it.โ€

He added: โ€œIt was a failure of leadership because I came on shows like this and asked people to do things and I didnโ€™t follow the those rules myself.โ€

When asked whether he thought his successor Sajid Javid was doing a better job than him, Hancock said: โ€œWho knows? Because thereโ€™s so many uncertainties and new things hitting us like the new Omicron variant, but I think heโ€™s doing a great job.

โ€œBut, you know, in those jobs, the pressures are big but thatโ€™s no excuse. It was a failure of leadership on my part and Iโ€™ve apologised for that.โ€

Matt Hancock in the This Morning studio
Matt Hancock in the This Morning studio
Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

Phillipโ€™s comment proved divisive on social media, with some praising the daytime host for grilling Hancock about the incident, while others suggested he was making light of the learning difficulty:

HuffPost UK has contacted ITV for comment.

Matt Hancock resigned from his position as health secretary in June, after photos of him kissing his aide were published in the media.

He said in a video posted on his Twitter account at the time: โ€œI understand the enormous sacrifices that everybody in this country has made โ€“ that you have made.

โ€œAnd those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them, and thatโ€™s why Iโ€™ve got to resign.โ€

This Morning airs every weekday from 10am on ITV.

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