A furious Piers Morgan wasted no time in blasting Prime Minister Boris Johnson over what he said was "a disgusting lie" he told in his address to the nation on Tuesday night.
Following on from his speech in the House of Commons hours earlier, the PM made a plea to the population while confirming the new regulations that will now be enforced as the country looks to slow down the sharp rise in coronavirus cases.
These include a 10pm curfew for all pubs, bars and restaurants in England, which will also now have to operate on a table service only basis.
Guests at wedding receptions now have to be limited to 15, indoor team sports banned and, in a huge U-turn to just a month ago, officer workers are being asked to work at home wherever possible.
Talking about his confidence in the course of action is being taken, Johnson said: "I know that we can succeed because we have succeeded before.
"When the sickness took hold in this country in March, we pulled together in a spirit of national sacrifice and community. We followed the guidance to the letter. We stayed at home, protected the NHS, and saved thousands of lives."
But an angry Piers rushed to Twitter to condemn the PM's words, branding him "shameless" in a rant which saw him post: "Boris Johnson just boasted of ‘succeeding’ in the first wave of coronavirus & ‘saving 1000s of lives’.
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"This is a disgusting lie. He failed so badly we had the worst casualty toll in Europe with 65,000 excess deaths. He’s so unutterably, sickeningly shameless."
Agreeing with him, one of Piers' many followers commented: "If we succeeded the first wave then we wouldn't be facing tougher restrictions yet again 6 months later.
"None of this has been a "success" and another blasted: "What did he tell me that I already didnt know from 12 today nothing I wont get that 4 mins back again what a waste of my time."
However, others urged Piers to get behind the Prime Minister at a critical time with one telling him: "Wow...you are unbelievable... Get behind our PM. Get behind Great Britain. Stop all the Negativity. It’s time to pull together, whatever you think!!!"
