THE Department of Work and Pensions Secretary struggled in a Good Morning Britain interview this morning as she could not say how many NHS or care workers had died after contracting coronavirus.

Piers Morgan was furious as Therese Coffey said she didn’t know the answers to those questions, and couldn’t tell him how many people had died outside of hospitals – in care homes or private houses – with Covid-19 in England. In Scotland, government death figures do include the number of fatalities outside hospitals.

Morgan asked the Cabinet member: “Do you know how many care workers have died of coronavirus or are currently seriously ill with it?”

She responded: “I don’t know the answer to that.”

He then asked: “Do you know how many NHS workers have died from coronavirus?”

Coffey again couldn’t give an answer, replying: “I don’t have the answer to that, I know a statement ….”

Morgan was then furious, telling the Tory MP: “I’m not being funny, sorry, how can a member of the British Government sent out to talk to the media have literally no idea how many NHS workers or care workers have died.

“Let me give you a bit of help. Here’s the front page of today’s Daily Mirror. That’s the pictures of all the NHS workers who’ve died. Why don’t you know this stuff? Matt Hancock didn’t know how many NHS workers had died the other die. Why is it that journalists seem to know more than you do about how many people are dying on the frontline of this?”

Coffey said she did know that 11,000 people had died across the UK, and that the Government was prioritising clinical needs assessments of frontline workers.

Morgan’s anger continued as he said: “It’s quite hard to prepare people properly if you don’t, with respect Miss Coffey, if you don’t know how many people ae dying in care homes, you don’t know how many health workers are dying, it’s quite hard to prepare and protect them properly if you have no idea of the scale of what youre dealing with. We have never seen this kind of carnage wreaking havoc on the lives of our health workers and care workers. And the least I expect is that the Government knows how many of these people are dying. Shouldn’t be too much to ask!”

Coffey said deaths outside hospitals are being registered regularly – but when pressed on exactly how many people had died at home or in care homes she could not answer.

Therese Coffey was trending on Twitter this morning after the shocking interview.

Morgan – who has been vocal over his concerns over the UK Government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis – won praise for the performance.

One person replied: “Wow, I'm experiencing a whole new sensation....appreciation for Piers Morgan.”

And a Twitter user responded to that to say: “Me too. It's uncomfortable, isn't it!”