Piers Morgan has denied being ill despite coughing for the first ten minutes of Good Morning Britain today as he begged the nation to rally behind Boris Johnson.
The presenter coughed as he urged Brits to stand behind the Prime Minister, prompting many viewers to question his health.
He responded to one to say: ‘All good thanks Elizabeth, just clearing my throat after a fairly sleepless night.’
Piers Morgan has denied being ill despite coughing for the first ten minutes of Good Morning Britain today as he begged the nation to rally behind Boris Johnson
The presenter coughed as he urged Brits to stand behind the Prime Minister, prompting many viewers to question his health
The Prime Minister, who was admitted to hospital with coronavirus symptoms on Sunday, was transferred to intensive care last night.
Piers told his viewers: ‘It was an extraordinary night last night. There must have been complete panic in Downing Street.
‘Everyone has got to rally behind him now, no matter what you think about him he is fighting for his life, on a human level everyone has got to rally behind him.
‘They would’t have given him one of those beds unless it was serious, that in itself is alarming.’
He went on to blast social media users who have made fun of Johnson on Twitter.
He responded to one to say: ‘All good thanks Elizabeth, just clearing my throat after a fairly sleepless night’
He said: ‘I just want to say also to those people on social media who can’t find it in themselves to be positive for the Prime Minister, if you are of that mindset just shut up.’
However, throughout his rallying address Piers was continuously coughing – prompting social media users to question his health.
One said: ‘Piers Morgan looks ill.’
While another wrote: ‘Morning guys. Is Piers Morgan okay? His eyes are red and he seems to have a cough of some kind.’
Another Twitter user said: ‘I think Piers has got Covid-19 he has coughed about 10 times so far.’
One user wrote: ‘I’m watching you from Paris this morning. Are you feeling well, you’ve been coughing a bit this morning! Stay safe and keep yourself protected.’
Piers responded: ‘All good thanks Elizabeth, just clearing my throat after a fairly sleepless night.’
Mr Johnson was moved to ICU at St Thomas’ Hospital in central London and given oxygen after his health deteriorated sharply over just two hours
Boris Johnson is still battling coronavirus in intensive care today with ‘no change’ in his condition overnight – amid a wave of support from across the nation.
Mr Johnson was moved to ICU at St Thomas’ Hospital in central London and given oxygen after his health deteriorated sharply over just two hours, leaving doctors fearing he will need a ventilator.
The 55-year-old was transferred to intensive care at 7pm because of breathing difficulties – forcing him to ‘deputise’ Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to take the reins of government.
In a round of broadcast interviews this morning, Cabinet minister Michael Gove said Mr Johnson was getting the ‘best care’.
‘As we speak the PM is in intensive care being looked after by his medical team receiving the very, very best care from the team in St Thomas’s and our hopes and prayers are with him and with his family,’ he told BBC Breakfast.
Mr Gove played down concerns that the government will be paralysed with the leader out of action.
‘The Cabinet is the supreme decision making body,’ he said.
The Queen is being kept informed about Mr Johnson’s condition, while Mr Raab will chair a meeting of the government coronavirus task force this morning.
The PM’s sharp downturn came 11 days after he first suffered coronavirus symptoms and went into isolation. He looked increasingly unwell when glimpsed in public and in ‘selfie’ videos posted on on social media, and ministers were then shocked by his grim appearance at a Zoom conference on Sunday.
Downing Street sources confirmed Mr Johnson is not yet on a ventilator – but was moved to intensive care to be near one if needed. Some medical experts forecasting this course of action is now ‘very likely’.
His fiancée Carrie Symonds is unable to be at his side as he battles coronavirus in intensive care quarantine.
Symonds, currently six months’ pregnant, is recovering after experiencing symptoms of the virus, and is now reported to have left Downing Street to isolate elsewhere.