Presenter Richard Madeley has defended Liverpool FC fans who booed the national anthem ahead of an FA Cup game. The 66-year-old broadcaster fronted Monday's edition of Good Morning Britain alongside Susanna Reid and the presenters were joined by commentators Kevin Maguire and Andrew Pierce to discuss the fallout after God Save the Queen was met with a chorus of jeers from Liverpool fans.
Richard worked for many years in Liverpool when This Morning was filmed from the Albert Dock and explained the anti-establishment sentiment is "part and parcel" of the culture in the city. He said: "I think, in many ways, it's quite a healthy disrespect for the establishment. Yes, when it comes out like that, it looks a bit ugly, but it's part and parcel of Liverpool and the way that proud city is. And the way it isn't cowed and it won't be beaten down."
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Kevin echoed the sentiment and explained people from Liverpool's decision to distance themselves from the national anthem can be traced to the 1980s when Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government was urged to abandon the city to "managed decline", reports the LiverpoolECHO. Kevin said: "There is a long tradition of Liverpool fans going back to the 1980s and Thatcher and they're not booing the Queen, it's booing the establishment.
"You've got to remember at the end of the period you had Hillsborough when Liverpool fans and people were treated appallingly by the establishment." He later added: "I love the spirit of rebellion and the spirit of resistance."
