Millionaire Gordon Ramsay has slammed criticism of his decision to lay-off 500 staff without pay as he isolates at his £4 million second home in Cornwall.
The celebrity chef has come under fire over his decision to terminate the contracts of workers at his restaurants which had to close during the coronavirus outbreak.
He remained silent in the aftermath of the axing and Mirror Online exclusively revealed that Ramsay had whisked his family off to their lavish second home in Cornwall as the pandemic worsened.
The telly star now broken his silence and got embroiled in a fiery spat on Twitter with a restaurant critic who slammed him for leaving his staff short during a time of crisis.
The Sunday Times writer Marina O'Loughlin tweeted: "Yet again, a day when multi-millionaires won't put hands in pockets while the little guys doing everything they can for their staff. WHERE IS OUR LIST?"
Ramsay was left furious over the tweet and took to the site to defend himself, declaring he has done "nothing BUT put my hands in my pockets for years".
He wrote: "You’ve clearly have never run a business, and yet across these very difficult times for all,you hide behind your pathetic tweets, get a grip will you !!!
"Cheap shots again and again from a bitter egotistical critic yawn!"
He went on to launch a personal attack on the writer, tweeting: "You complain about food for a living!
"Closed restaurants with your poison pen because they didn’t kiss your arse, ever thought about giving back across these difficult times????
"I’ve done nothing BUT put my hands in my pockets for years!"
Earlier this week, Ramsay came under fire for laying off 500 staff at his restaurants which shut their doors due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Axed employees took to social media to blast Gordon Ramsay Restaurants for ending their contracts out of the blue.
The celebrity chef - who boasts an estimated net worth of £185million - had called staff to a meeting where they were told their contracts were being cancelled.
Tearful staff had no idea their jobs were at risk and have now been placed on garden leave for the duration of their notice period.
His workers - including chefs, waiters and other employees - have been told by email they will get paid up until April 17, but say there is no guarantee their job will still be available when Ramsay's restaurants eventually reopen.
Mirror Online later revealed the star was holed up at his luxury holiday home in Cornwall with his family.
A neighbour told us exclusively that many residents have concerns about wealthy second home owners who have been flocking to the area since the coronavirus outbreak hit the UK.
They told us: "I don't know how long he's been there, or if he came down after the restrictions, but a lot of second home owners have been coming to the area.
"We only have one hospital. At the moment there a low number of cases [of coronavirus] here.
"We live in a spacious area, so second home owners have decided to come here even though MPs have asked them to stay away.
"At Gordon's house - there's a fleet of cars outside, Range Rovers, Land Rovers - they're all outside."
