Piers Morgan has insisted he did wear a face mask in a cab after he was photographed without one on a night out with his wife Celia.
On Sunday, the Good Morning Britain presenter explained that he had initially forgotten to put on his face covering but did so “seconds after” the picture was taken.
Responding to the snap that appeared in The Sun, Piers said: “I put my mask on seconds after this pic was taken, as the cab moved off. I should have done it before I got in but ironically, I was chatting to the paparazzi & I forgot.”
In a series of follow-up tweets, Piers attempted to clarify his actions, admitting he was “guilty as charged”.
“I haven’t made an excuse,” he tweeted. “I just explained what happened. I’m guilty as charged. For a few seconds, I was a Covidiot & I deserve the full wrath of Twitter hell to now descend on me
The 55-year-old star has been highly critical of “Covidiots” who don’t follow the government’s coronavirus safety guidelines.
Current rules state that face coverings must be worn “when using taxies or private hire vehicles.”
Earlier this week, Piers said Sky News journalist Kay Burley should be held to the same account as politicians over her Covid rule-break.
The broadcaster has been taken off air for six months following an internal investigation into the news anchor’s 60th birthday celebrations in London last weekend, whilst the capital was under tier 2 restrictions.
Piers addressed the story on Wednesday’s edition of Good Morning Britain after being asked why “we’re not commenting on this given it’s one of our own, the media”.
“We should talk about it even though they are friends of ours,” he insisted.
“My view would be, as I’m sure Kay’s view would be if she was talking about this, we should be held to account, in my opinion, exactly the same way we hold politicians to account.
“If we’re going to hold people’s feet to the fire, we’ve got to make sure we live up to the same standards.”
He also made it clear he wasn’t buying Rita Ora’s apology, after the singer broke lockdown restrictions to celebrate her 30th birthday at the start of the month.
After the singer said she was “deeply sorry” for her actions, Piers dismissed the apology, suggesting the chart-topping star was actually just “deeply sorry you got caught”.
Referring to Rita’s mother, who is a nurse, Piers said: “She spent most of the first wave of the pandemic speaking about her pride for the health service.
“She even launched a coronavirus range of clothing saying ‘stop the spread’… And then she invites 30 of her mates for her lockdown-breaking 30th birthday. What does her mum think about this?”