‘Utterly heartless. Devoid of empathy’: Piers Morgan lays into cabinet minister’s one-line response to Marcus Rashford

The Good Morning Britain presenter said the reply “epitomises this government”.

Piers Morgan has hit out at a cabinet minister’s “heartless” response to a tweet from footballer Marcus Rashford.

The 22-year-old Manchester United star asked followers on social media to think about “parents who have had their water turned off during lockdown”, as well as those who have had to “default on electricity bill payments just to make ends meet,” and the “200,000 children across the country” who are having to skip meals.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Therese Coffey, responded to Rashford’s tweets, which have been widely shared on social media.

She wrote simply: “Water cannot be disconnected though.”

Reacting to her response on Good Morning Britain, Mr Morgan ripped into Ms Coffey, claiming she had “no empathy.”

“Therese Coffey, the Work and Pensions secretary of state...she’s popped up, she’s read all Marcus Rashford’s tweets this morning,” he said, before reading out her tweet on air.

Susanna Reid, Morgan’s co-host on GMB, said: “That’s so tone deaf.”

Piers Morgan has hit out at a cabinet minister’s “heartless” response to a tweet from footballer Marcus Rashford.

“She’s a government cabinet minister,” Morgan continued, “That is her response to Marcus Rashford. That’s it. That’s all she had to say. No empathy. No attempt to understand. No attempt to support him.

“Marcus Rashford isn’t coming at this as a politician, he doesn’t care what side you’re on. He just wants to help kids who can’t get food, because he was one himself.

“People wonder why we shouted at these people. I’d probably shout at her right now, if she was on. Wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t all of you? That’s her response. One line.”

Reid added: “Parents have to make a choice between their services - whether they heat the house, whether they themselves eat, or whether they feed their children.”

“The tone-deafness of that response just about epitomizes this government,” Morgan said, “Heartless. Utterly heartless. Devoid of empathy.”

It comes after Marcus Rashford penned an open letter to the UK government, asking them to reverse their decision not to extend free school meals for children in low-income households over the summer.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has since rejected the footballer’s request.

On Monday afternoon, Rashford tweeted: “We aren’t beaten yet, stand strong for the 200,000 children who haven’t had a meal to eat today and keep retweeting #maketheUturn.”

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