"I see them abusing him and mocking him"
Piers Morgan has shared his support for Captain Sir Tom Moore and his family after they received criticism for travelling to Barbados in December.
The 100-year-old veteran, who raised almost £40 million for the NHS after walking laps of his back garden, is currently in hospital being treated for Covid-19 and pneumonia.
Although support for Tom has been widespread, there has also been a small amount of criticism following his family's decision to holiday in the Caribbean after being offered a free trip by British Airways.
Morgan addressed the issue on today's
Good Morning Britain, saying: "If your first thought when hearing Captain Sir Tom Moore is in hospital, fighting coronavirus, aged 100 - knowing how dangerous that situation is - if your first thought is to troll him and his family on Twitter..."
https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1356248382105395201?s=20
"He took a perfectly legal trip to Barbados, the trip of a lifetime, to give him a break," Morgan went on. "He had been offered a free trip. We have no idea if it had anything to do with his subsequent illness.
"We are in February now, and this was back in December. Frankly that's a matter for the family, they did nothing wrong."
Morgan pointed to Twitter as the "total sewer" in which some users alluded to Tom's recent trip to the island after the news about his hospitalisation broke.
"I see them abusing him and mocking him," he went on, "a man who served his country in World War II, a man who helped save this country from the Nazis a man who, aged 99, raised £39million for the NHS [...] motivated all of us, inspired all of us, has been an ambassador for us all over the world - the very best of this country."
"And for disgusting vermin to be abusing and mocking him and his family on Twitter at such a moment, when clearly there are very serious concerns about his life, I find utterly contemptible," he went on.
"What have we become when that is the gut reaction on social media?"
Captain Tom and his family travelled to Barbados on December 11 after being offered a free trip from BA. Foreign travel was advised against by the UK government at the time but a national lockdown was not yet in place.
It has been reported that a trip to Barbados was on Captain Tom's bucket list. The 100 year old is currently being treated for Covid and pneumonia in hospital.
