Politics
Sinead Butler
Dec 07, 2021
Phillip Schofield has divided The Morning viewers after he put a brutal question to Matt Hancock that referenced him infamously breaking Covid lockdown rules with his affair scandal from earlier this year.
Appearing on the show to campaign his new bill that calls for all primary school kids get dyslexia screenings, as Hancock himself wasn’t diagnosed until he attended Oxford University.
“It’s shocking fact that estimates are that a fifth of the children get identified if they’re dyslexic in school and I want to change that and I want to have screening for all pupils in primary school and then the support and teaching to help them because once you’re identified... then you can work out how to cope with it,” Hancock said and revealed he was re-taught how to read and write and to “see words as pictures.”
After discussing the bill and how to reduce the stigma surrounding dyslexia, Schofield ceased an opportunity to grill Hancock on breaking social distancing rules after the Tory MP was caught on CCTV embracing his aide at the time, Gina Coladangelo, in his office earlier this year.
"Was it your dyslexia that meant you misread the social distancing rules?" https://t.co/zZx9yY1hdr— This Morning (@This Morning) 1638876268
Schofield asked: “Was it your dyslexia that meant you misread the social distancing rules?”
The question prompted a flinch and a smirk from co-host Holly Willoughby, while Hancock dismissed any suggestion that his dyslexia had anything to do with his rule-breaking.
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“No, I can’t blame that on dyslexia or anything else. In fact, I’m not asking for any special favours or anything because I’m dyslexic and in politics I’ve got some things to offer,” he told the presenters.
“It was a failure of leadership because I came on shows like this and asked people to do things and I didn’t follow those rules myself.”
He added: “I think that Sajid Javid, who’s doing the job, is doing an excellent job.”
The exchange quickly gained traction on social media, with some people finding amusement in the pointed question.
Brilliant! @Schofe asks @MattHancock on @thismorning "was it your dyslexia that made you mis-read social distancing… https://t.co/DGeat9teMH— Stephen Fenwick (@Stephen Fenwick) 1638876082
OMG "was it your dyslexia that made you misread social distancing rules" #ThisMorning Matt Hancock...... https://t.co/NtDxe2MQQP— CC Shoreditch (@CC Shoreditch) 1638876031
Phil after saying his dyslexia question about social distancing to Matt Hancock #ThisMorning https://t.co/MPY4n4KC6E— Dave (@Dave) 1638876052
https://t.co/dERtl9zZLY https://t.co/Hh2RBVsV2r— Alex Apati (@Alex Apati) 1638877052
Phillip Schofield as Matt Hancock left the studio… #ThisMorning https://t.co/QhYadtDATH— Bye bye Boris 👋🏼 (@Bye bye Boris 👋🏼) 1638876594
When Phil asked Matt Hancock "was it your Dyslexia that meant you mis-read the social distancing rules," on… https://t.co/mgPEdwjJvl— ZOE (@ZOE) 1638877174
phillip schofield just asked matt hancock on this morning if his dyslexia was the reason for his mishandling of the pandemic HHAHAHAHAHA— 𝙃𝙀 𝙉𝙀𝙀𝘿 𝙎𝙐𝙈 𝙈𝙄𝙇𝙆🥛 (@𝙃𝙀 𝙉𝙀𝙀𝘿 𝙎𝙐𝙈 𝙈𝙄𝙇𝙆🥛) 1638876090
Phil knew what he was doing 😂😂😂 https://t.co/dUbNYcRUI3 https://t.co/9NHlYC1hDO— Niyiolopade1 (@Niyiolopade1) 1638876564
Hello, police!? Please come quickly, there’s been a murder! https://t.co/w5lQ7jM3Zs— Alex Hudson (@Alex Hudson) 1638878342
Drag her Phil https://t.co/nLS2iIhjx4— Alex Hickson (@Alex Hickson) 1638877780
However, many people slammed Schofield’s line of questioning calling it “below the belt” and “totally unnecessary” and also felt that it took away from the important topic at hand to raise awareness around dyslexia.
Those critics also thought that Schofield was mocking people with dyslexia by incorporating it into his question.
Swing and a massive miss here, really. Not funny at all https://t.co/D4SQMm39gE— Adam Payne (@Adam Payne) 1638878848
Dyslexia has nothing to do with being able to understand rules fgs https://t.co/BACGOME8u1— Scott Bryan (@Scott Bryan) 1638876455
@thismorning @Schofe I'm not a massive fan of @MattHancock but I think that line of questioning about his dyslexia… https://t.co/MLAlv6njFa— Steven Green (@Steven Green) 1638876222
Don’t like tories at all but also don’t agree with Phil mocking dyslexia to get a dig in at him breaking the rules #ThisMorning— KAREEMAbareema (@KAREEMAbareema) 1638876136
@thismorning That was rude!— Joeann (@Joeann) 1638876392
@thismorning A Totally unnecessary comment! He was there to speak seriously about dyslexia!— MrsP030911 (@MrsP030911) 1638876532
@thismorning Not the time. Being a dyslexic person I hope Holly sets him straight. This is an important issue with… https://t.co/kMBztc7Nyc— Suz Harrison (@Suz Harrison) 1638877234
@thismorning Disappointed @Schofe My 10 yr old last week said ‘words & sentences float around the page’ for the 1st… https://t.co/HXWwxwDkdc— Nicola Trainer (@Nicola Trainer) 1638878259
@thismorning Great interview on highlighting dyslexia, right up until Phil turned it into a circus. #juststicktothecontentphil— lynzpub (@lynzpub) 1638876556
@thismorning It is a great interview regardless of your views on the bloke. However, this comment was below the belt this morning.— joanne (@joanne) 1638877028
@thismorning Yes because breaking covid rules is something all people with Dyslexia do!! Bad call @thismorning— The GLL house (@The GLL house) 1638876425
Matt Hancock absolutely should be held to account. BUT when he guested on This Morning to discuss dyslexia, Philip… https://t.co/hYDlkdXlyJ— Dean Beadle (@Dean Beadle) 1638879328
https://t.co/D8HQh7Oukr https://t.co/IUOM9YAyKW— Katie (@Katie) 1638877523
People couldn’t help but peep Willoughby’s flinch and smirk in response to the awkward question.
HOLLYS FACE AAA LMAO https://t.co/DTfQpClVRK— Megs Mae Mitchell ♡ (@Megs Mae Mitchell ♡) 1638879608
Holly's face is me whenever someone brings up tea I know they shouldn't be 💀 https://t.co/uoBdj25MCv— Jack Wetherill (@Jack Wetherill) 1638877676
Holly's smirk as Phil read out the question 😂 https://t.co/TEsI80EJOW— Rachael Evans (@Rachael Evans) 1638877448
Holly's slight smirk/twitch 🤣 https://t.co/9iHUZWXb5K— Amy Packham (@Amy Packham) 1638877478
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