Piers Morgan attacks ‘anonymous cretins’ trolling Captain Tom’s family: ‘It hurt them in darkest hour’

‘I hope you can live with yourselves’

Captain Tom Moore’s family was “hurt” during their “darkest moment” by abusive comments made online before and after the centenarian's death, Piers Morgan has said.

The Good Morning Britain host condemned “anonymous cretins” who criticised Captain Tom for going on holiday to Barbados in December. His flight was paid for by British Airways as a gift for his record-breaking fundraising work during the first national coronavirus lockdown in March 2020.

The 100-year-old became a national treasure as he raised more than £32 million for the NHS by walking laps around his garden with his walker. He died on Tuesday after being treated for pneumonia and testing positive for coronavirus.

Mr Morgan, who himself came under fire earlier this year for flying to Antigua for Christmas, said the hurtful comments “added a little bit more despair, misery and hurt” onto his family’s loss.

“I hope you can live with yourselves, I really do because it was despicable and the very worst of this country is some of the stuff I read on Twitter and social media over the last few days,” he said.

“We have to do something about this. The idea that people think it’s okay to abuse people like Captain Tom and his family after he raised £39 million for this country for the NHS and they think they can abuse Marcus Rashford and black footballers.

“They think they can do this with impunity and not suffer any consequences for it, and never think about the misery they inflict on their targets.

“Well I can tell you, you inflicted it on the Moore family in their darkest moment. You really did make it worse.”

Downing Street also condemned the abuse levelled at Captain Tom and his family online, with Boris Johnson’s press secretary describing it as “absolutely appalling”.