This Morning’s Phillip Schofield confronts Matt Hancock over ‘utterly bonkers’ lockdown rules

Phillip Schofield today confronted Matt Hancock over the government’s guidelines on meeting friends and family.

The host slammed the new rules as ‘utterly bonkers’ after the health secretary said that seeing your parents one at a time, 10 minutes apart, was ok.

Mr Hancock appeared on the ITV daytime programme to answer questions from Phil and co-host Holly Willoughby about the government’s new lockdown guidelines, which only apply to England and tells the public to 'stay alert' about coronavirus.

But he brushed aside the criticism over being able to hire a cleaner but not being able to see two parents at once, saying they “had to draw a line somewhere” relating to the people you can see at one time.

Phil said: "How come I can only see one parent, yet I can hire a cleaner?"

“We have been separated from them for such a long time - are you actually asking us to pick a parent?”

Mr Hancock replied: “One at a time, Phillip, you can see one parent, and then you can see the other, and that’s fine.”

Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby speak to Matt Hancock on This Morning (ITV)

He went on to explain that the government is looking at whether two households can come together and interact more, but they would need to assess the impact of that.

Phil then enquired as to whether he could see his parents 10 minutes apart.

Mr Hancock said: “Yes, as long as it’s only one at a time, that’s fine.”

Matt Hancock on This Morning (ITV)

An exasperated Phil responded: “Can’t you see that this is utterly bonkers?”

Mr Hancock said no before explaining that they did not want huge groups gathering.

He said: “You have got to have a line somewhere.”

Phil continued to push Mr Hancock on the matter, explaining that it did not need to be a park and that people could see their parents in the garden.

He said: “It’s just the case of being able to see the faces of two people that you have missed.”

But Mr Hancock's reply was that as people are likely to walk through the house to get to the garden, this is not allowed, and therefore the government is not recommending this.

He said: “Indoors is much higher risk than outdoors.”

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.