ITV viewers were left rather annoyed on Monday morning (May 16) after Richard Madeley appeared to critcise civil servants who are working from home.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain alongside co-host Susanna Reid, Richard discussed working from home with conservative MP, Rachel Maclean, and questioned why some civil servants were still not back in the office despite having the freedom to do so.
Although Rachel tried to explain that staff are still working at home and in the office, the GMB journalist wasn’t convinced and said he would have been sacked if he was to do the same.
He also protested that it has hard to monitor levels of work performance for those who are at home.
(Image: GMB)
Richard said: “In the days when I was a newspaper reporter, if I phoned my editor and said ‘I’m working from home today’ trust me, I would have had a P45 in the mail the next day.”
Offering a balanced view, Susanna chimed: “Times have changed though, to be fair.”
But as the presenter showed his evident concern, viewers at home fumed at Richard’s stance and complained that Richard shouldn’t be so bothered about where people chose to work.
Taking to Twitter, one person wrote: “Why does Richard Madeley care so much where people are working their desk jobs? What difference does it actually make to him?”
(Image: ITV)
Another furious viewer commented: “#RichardMadeley losing his head because apparently he pays civil servants wages & they shouldn’t be working from home?! Pretty sure they pay their own wages too pal, if they’re paying tax!!! give your head a wobble Richard.”
A third said: “Hey @richardm56 when you started as a reporter the internet hadn’t been invented. With emails, shared files and videoconferencing, everything you could do in an office can be done from home.”
(Image: ITV)
While a fourth shared: “Richard Madeley needs to get out the dark ages. What absolute nonsense. If he thinks putting 3 hours of daily commute back into my day makes me more productive that’s rubbish. Suggest he concentrates on his own performance levels.”
Despite the uproar, some viewers were still loving the fact Richard was back on their screens on Monday morning.
One social media user wrote: “I actually like #Richard Madeley presenting #GMB more than any of the other presenters with Susannah Reid.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
