Angela Rayner has said she is ‘worried’ about the online abuse aimed at This Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby after allegations they skipped the queue to see the Queen lying in state.
Speaking at the Labour conference in Liverpool, the party's deputy leader said the attack they are facing on social media is ‘really damaging’.
Holly and Phillip addressed the row in a pre-recorded statement on This Morning on Tuesday, insisting they would ‘never jump a queue’, explaining they had media accreditation.
The 42-year-old MP has since said she is concerned as she reflected on the abuse the co-hosts have received.
She said: “It hurts when people think that they can call you thick and all of those things.
“I've seen it with what was happening with Phillip 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.”
She added that it was important for parliament to legislate on the issue of online abuse and when asked for her message to social media firms, she said: “It's your gaff, sort it out, you have responsibility to do that.”
Angela continued: “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.”
During a pre-filmed statement aired on the ITV show last week, Holly and Phil said: "None of the broadcasters and journalists there took anyone's place in the queue and no one filed past the Queen."
This comes as a petition calling for the This Morning duo to be axed from television has reached nearly 75,000 signatures, subsequently raising concerns about the presenters' well-being.
"There are huge, real and serious concerns over their wellbeing and ITV is fully supporting them behind the scenes in the face of such relentless trolling," a source told The Mirror. "The channel backs them 110 per cent."
They even said that Holly and Phil have felt reassured by ITV's stance, and dismissed rumours that Holly could even quit the show, or that her job was in peril.
"She adores her job and would never quit. The whole experience has been totally brutal but one thing has remained constant, and that’s been ITV’s unwavering support," the source added.
