Piers Morgan has questioned why coronavirus restrictions should be lifted for Christmas when they were not for other religious festivals that have fallen during the pandemic.
The Good Morning Britain host claimed the “entire health of the nation should rest on whether we can gorge together on turkey for a couple of days” over the Christmas period.
Speaking on Wednesday’s edition of the ITV breakfast show, Piers insisted we should be “all in this together”.
He was reacting to a point made from a viewer who claimed there would be “five days of utter madness just because it’s Christmas - we had lockdown for other religious festivals.”
“Yes we did actually,” Piers said. “Why should the christians get it easier? Seriously, why should we? Why should we be the ones that have to have our festival saved when we didn’t do that for other religious festivals in the last few weeks?”
After co-host Susanna Reid noted that Diwali took place during lockdown last weekend, Piers continued: “It’s a good question. We’re all in this together, or we’re not.
“I don’t think the entire health of the nation should rest on whether we can gorge together on turkey for a couple of days. Because personally, I think we have to be slightly selfless about this.”
On Tuesday, Downing Street said it wants to relax lockdown rules to “ensure that people can spend time together over Christmas”.
However, it would not reveal what system of rules will replace the current national lockdown in England.
Prime minister Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said: “We are looking at ways to ensure that people can spend time with close family over Christmas at the end of what there’s been an incredibly difficult year.”
It is not the first time Piers has called for the nation to sacrifice Christmas in order to get on top of the pandemic.
“This virus has not got any less virulent,” he said in September. “It doesn’t understand rule of six, or Boris’ idea of having Christmas Day off, as if somehow we can all amass on Christmas Day and then go back to the rules.”
Piers continued: “If we miss Christmas Day as a country, if that’s what we have to do, we have to do it.
“This is our war. I think people have to be realistic about that.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.