Phillip Schofield in heated debate with Minister after woman is arrested for taking mum from care home
5 November 2020, 12:06
Phillip Schofield slams MP Helen Whately for appearing ‘cold and heartless’ over care home lockdown rules
Phillip Schofield told the Minister of State for Social Care she 'looked heartless' during the tense exchange.
Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby clashed with Helen Whately, the Minister of State for Social Care, during an interview on Thursday's show.
The Minister appeared on the show after Holly and Phil spoke to Ylenia Angeli, 73, who was arrested this week after trying to take her 73-year-old mum out of a care home.
During the chat, Ylenia explained that she and her daughter, Leandra Ashton, 42, had no intentions to take Tina from the care home, but spontaneously took the chance to care for her at home.
Ylenia, who hadn't hugged her mum for nine months, was arrested by police half an hour after she and her daughter put her in the car and drove off.
The heartbreaking story left viewers emotional, as Leandra explained on the show: "This is the point we really want to raise, that we are not alone, there are thousands of families in the same position as us."
She went on: "These rules that are in place in order to protect and to save need to be fundamentally challenged by us all because quite simply they're not".
Watch the footage of Ylenia being arrested here:
NHS nurse arrested for taking her 97-year-old mum home
Helen Whately, the Minister of State for Social Care, appeared on the show and was quizzed by Holly and Phil over the guidelines for care homes in the second lockdown.
This comes after the Government made a U-turn on regulations at the last minute declaring that care home visits could take place outdoors, through windows or in personal protect equipment covered pods.
Helen admitted that she found listening to Ylenia's story "really hard", to which Phillip responded: "So fix it!"
She explained to the This Morning hosts: "That's why today we're publishing new guidelines on visiting for care homes, and the reason we're doing that is because we're going into a national lockdown, and we're asking people again to stay at home, I don't want to see care homes go back into lockdown like they did before."
Holly went on to tell Helen that they haven't given care homes "time to catch up" as the change in rules was made so late.
Continuing to grill her, Phil asked the Minister: "Do you agree that the care home was right to call the police?", to which she replied: "I can't comment on the individual actions taken by the care home".
The TV star then went on to ask "where is the compassion" for the elderly lady, before telling her she looked "cold and heartless".
Since the incident, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Noble, from Humberside Police, has said in a statement: "These are incredibly difficult circumstances and we sympathise with all families who are in this position.
"We responded to a report of an assault at the care home, who are legally responsible for the woman's care and were concerned for her wellbeing.
"As was our legal duty, we returned the lady to the home and a 73-year-old woman who was initially arrested was de-arrested and allowed to return home with her daughter.
"We understand that this is an emotional and difficult situation for all those involved and will continue to provide whatever support we can to both parties."
Phillip added that the care home had refused to comment on the incident.
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