ItV’s women are let loose back on our screens
arrest while everyone else is free... then I think they wouldn’t accept it.
“Lots of them have told me they would rebel and would risk going to prison, rather than being forced to isolate at home. Of course it’s age discrimination, there’s no other way to look at it.
“A healthy 70 year old is probably less risk to society than an unhealthy 40-year-old, in terms of vulnerability to this illness.”
The Tory peer was backed by TV star Sir Michael Palin, 76, who warned against “unfair” treatment of older generations.
He said: “I think it’s a difficult call every time but you’ve got to be more selective here, because there are a great number of people in their 70s who are very active, very thoughtful, who’ve got lots of ideas, can contribute to our recovery.
“And I think that to treat them
DAYTIME TV favourite Loose Women returns today after six weeks with a new look to take in social distancing rules.
Images of the panelists in rehearsal showed them working in line with Covid-19 guidelines.
The long-running ITV show, traditionally filmed live in front all as people who have to be, sort of, kept out of sight is going to be very difficult and very wrong and very unfair on a lot of people who want to help.”
The Government’s official guidance says the over-70s are “clinically vulnerable”, are in a “high-risk” group, and they should only leave home “if it’s of an audience, was taken off air in March.
But live episodes will now be broadcast from London Studios on the South Bank on Mondays and Wednesdays at 12.30pm.
Three panellists will feature on the desk, with a fourth via video-link from home, and there essential, for example, to get food or medicine”.
Doctors’ leaders said the Government should apply restrictions based on individual risk instead of an “arbitrary age”. British Medical Association Council chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul said quarantining people based focus on topics such as mental health issues as part of their “Lighten the Load” campaign.
Andrea said: “Loose Women has been a part of my life for 13 years, so to suddenly not be meeting up with my friends and hearing the latest about what’s going on has been strange.” solely on how old they are would be “both unethical and illegal”.
He said: “Any moves to do this could only be justified if it were to protect individuals themselves, their families and the wider public.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out plans to ease the country out of lockdown later this week and campaigners warned that fit and healthy older people must not be left behind.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “An enforced lockdown of people beyond a certain age would create huge resentment for being too heavy handed and for infantilising older people, and rightly so.
“If there is clear clinical evidence showing advancing age, in and of itself, makes it more likely you will get seriously ill if you contract the virus, the Government should publish it in full.
“This would allow older people to make informed decisions.”
Jan Shortt, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, said: “We understand and empathise with the thinking behind a strategy which aims to protect older people during this dreadful pandemic.
“However, there are other considerations which we would ask the Government to look at before making a final decision.
“Older people, like other groups in society, are not homogeneous. There are very poorly 60-year-olds and very active 90-year-olds.
“It would be wrong of the Government to propose a blanket isolation strategy based only on age.”