ITV show This Morning has come under fire after the programme lied about its main presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield “not jumping the queue” for the Queen, despite multiple eyewitnesses confirming the pair skipped the hours-long wait with alleged VIP passes.
Mia Froggatt, whose sister had queued for 13 hours with her husband and ten-year old daughter and her disabled mum took to Twitter after her family were ushered out of the line for the ITV pair to join.
She said: “This is a photo taken by my sisters husband yesterday, after he had queued with my sister, their 10 y/o daughter and my disabled mum, for 13+ hrs, my mum was ushered out of @hollywills and @Schofe way so they could #queuejumpers w/o even a thanks #schofieldgate #queuejumping.”
The row has fired up online with angry Brits calling for Britains most hated TV presenter to be fired, two years after he had an affair with a This Morning show runner Mathew Mcgreevey.
This Morning said: “Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby did not “jump the queue” for the Queen’s lying in state and were there to report on the event as media.”
Programme bosses said in a statement on Instagram that their hosting duo had attended to film a segment due to air during Tuesday’s show.
They said: “Hello everyone, we would like to clarify something. We asked Phillip and Holly to be part of a film for this Tuesday’s programme.
“They did not jump the queue, have VIP access or file past the Queen lying in state – but instead were there in a professional capacity as part of the world’s media to report on the event.”
Some media and MPs have been able to bypass the queue and access Westminster Hall since its doors opened to the public on Wednesday.
In the days since, the queue has swelled in size and at one time reached a wait time of “at least 24 hours” before dropping.
The lying in state is also being broadcast live and 24/7 by a number of broadcasters including the BBC and Sky News.
Other famous faces have also paid their respects to the Queen ahead of her funeral.
Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid, 51, said she had queued for seven hours and 20 minutes to see the lying in state, while David Beckham also joined the queue.
Speaking after the viewing, Beckham, 47, told press: “It is emotional for everybody involved.”
