Coronavirus: Piers Morgan attacks Lewis Capaldi and Stereophonics for playing gigs during pandemic

‘It is nonsense, utter nonsense,’ said the chat show host on ‘Good Morning Britain’, but the artists were following up-to-date government advice

Piers Morgan has hit out at Lewis Capaldi and Stereophonics for performing gigs amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Morgan said: “LA has shut down all its bars, restaurants, gyms, etc. But in Britain, you can go to any gym, any bar, any restaurant.”

He then criticised Stereophonics’ decision to play a gig in Cardiff. “This is really what you should be doing, isn’t it”, he said, “when the rest of the world’s shutting down.”

“This is what Britain’s doing,” he continued. “Lewis Capaldi played in Scotland last night; we had the half marathon yesterday.”

In a heated programme, Morgan also criticised the UK government’s lack of clear advice on the situation.

“British people are not social distancing because they’ve been told not to by the government,” he said at one point.

Talking to a hypothetical concert-goer, he asked: “What the hell are you doing going to pop concerts? It is nonsense, utter nonsense. If the government now says we’re going to stop all of this, what has changed from Thursday to today? In three days?”

Jason Leitch, Scotland’s Clinical Director, clashed with Morgan during the episode, arguing: “the science tells me that mass gatherings in our trajectory are not a danger to public health.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Lewis Capaldi said: “The final show of Lewis’s UK arena tour in Aberdeen on Sunday 15th March went ahead in full compliance with the advisory document on mass gatherings issued by the Scottish government at 1pm on the same day.”

“Security, first aid, medical and welfare teams were paid for by the organisers as normal and the venue had additional signage in place to highlight best practice on hygiene during the event”, they added.