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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
James Brinsford

Claims Holly and Phil's aides 'ushered wheelchair user' out of the way amid 'Queuegate'

A woman has accused Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield's aides of 'ushering' her disabled mother out of the duo's way outside Westminster Hall earlier this month.

In a now-deleted tweet shared on September 17, Mia Froggatt claimed that after queuing for over 13 hours to see Queen Elizabeth lying-in-state, her mother was moved aside so that the This Morning presenters could make it in time for their 10am slot on ITV.

However, a TV insider has claimed to the Mirror that the This Morning duo were guided by parliamentary officials to their correct position and were actually escorted alongside 13 other members of the media as they made their way to the correct media access entrance at Westminster.

Sharing her anger on the social media site, Ms Froggatt tweeted: "This is a photo taken by my sister's husband yesterday after he had queued with my sister, their 10-year-old daughter and my disabled mum for 13+ hours."

Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby in Westminster Hall to see The Queen Lying in State (ITV)

The photo was of Holly and Phil standing outside, next to the those who are presumably in the queue to pay their respects to the late monarch.

Ms Froggatt continued: "My mum was ushered out of @hollywills and @schofe way so they could #queuejumpers without even a thanks #schofieldgate #queuejumping."

Since the TV pairing was caught on camera walking towards Westminster Hall, past the queue, and then on the livestream filing past the Queen, they have both faced intense trolling on social media.

The ensuing 'Queuegate' has seen Phillip being dropped from the media of You Buy Any Car, who he has been the face of for some time.

Holly and Phil have faced intense trolling since 'Queuegate' (ITV)

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has expressed concern about the online abuse aimed at the This Morning hosts.

At a fringe event at the Labour Party conference, Ms Rayner, who has been subjected to horrific online abuse including death threats herself, said she was worried about the targeting of the TV stars.

“It hurts when people think that they can call you thick and all of those things,” Ms Rayner said, reflecting on the abuse she has suffered.

“I’ve seen it with what was happening with Philip Schofield and Holly just recently.

“I’ve been worried about them because even though they are celebrities… they are human beings and I just think ‘wow’.

“The way in which the online attack on them, as a human being to have that, I just think is really damaging.”

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were falsely accused of jumping the queue (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Ms Rayner said the scale of online abuse meant it was important for Parliament to legislate.

Her message to social media firms was “it’s your gaff, sort it out, you have responsibility to do that” but self-regulation had so far failed.

“They’ve tried to self-regulate, they’ve tried to say ‘we’ll look after you’. They haven’t, they’ve not been able to do it and now it’s time for us to legislate.”

The Mirror has approached representatives for This Morning, Holly and Phil after it became known that Holly and Phil were escorted along with a number of other members of the media to the correct media access entrance at Westminster.

Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner has spoken out against the abuse aimed at Holly and Phil (PA)

A spokesperson for ITV said: "This Morning asked Phillip and Holly to attend Westminster Hall to make a report on the Queen lying in state as part of a wider piece around the death of the monarch.

"They followed all restrictions and guidelines and attended the media area, entering via the media centre door, in a professional capacity alongside many other broadcasters and media.

"They neither jumped the queue nor took anyone's place in the queue. We asked them to attend and Holly and Phillip continue to have our full support."

After claims that Holly and Phil did not have the correct accreditation for being at Westminster Hall, ITV have stated: "Phillip and Holly had full accreditation which was organised by the This Morning production team. Any claims otherwise are untrue."

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct at 0207 29 33033.

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