‘I’m not laughing’ - Labour leader tells Piers Morgan the government’s pandemic response is not funny

Keir Starmer has hit back at suggestions from Piers Morgan that he should be laughing at how the government has handled the coronavirus response.

The Good Morning Britain host asked how he 'wasn't laughing out loud' at the claims from the prime minister over how his government has responded.

'When Boris Johnson stands there and says, 'I'm very proud of our record and how we've handled the pandemic', I mean how do you stop laughing out loud in incredulity?' asked the presenter.

But taking a more serious tone, Starmer said it was hard to find the government's incompetence during a pandemic funny.

'The reason I don't laugh is because I think of the 65,000 people who have died of coronavirus and their families,' he explained.

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'Pride is not something you would ever associate with what's happened over the last three months.

'I think the prime minister has been asleep at the wheel. He's been slow. The communication has been terrible.

'It began to break down frankly when Dominic Cummings put forward a ridiculous defence about what he'd done in the North East.'

A new poll released over the weekend suggests that voters prefer Starmer to Johnson, with the government's Covid-19 response widely attributed to the fall in ratings for the PM.