‘Am I a criminal?’ Alastair Campbell declares he’s broken social distancing rules as he makes Good Morning Britain debut

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Alastair Campbell revealed he accidentally broke social distancing rules as he made his Good Morning Britain debut this morning.

The presenter had been discussing the upcoming changes to lockdown restrictions with co-star Susanna Reid when he confessed he totally forgot that you’re not currently allowed to hug loved ones when recently catching up with some friends.

‘I must confess, Susanna, I lapsed the other day,’ Alastair said. ‘I just forgot.’

‘Call the police,’ Susanna replied, before asking: ‘What did you do? Let’s find out the extent of the crime.’

Alastair replied: ‘Well, we met some people. Didn’t hug them when we met and then at the end I just sort of forgot.

‘So when they left, I hugged them. Am I a criminal? Is DS Arnott going to come and take me away?’

Hugs with family and friends and indoor socialising are expected to be allowed from next week as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces further easing of coronavirus restrictions in England.

The next stage of the road map out of lockdown is expected to go ahead from May 17, with most social contact rules outdoors will be lifted, although gatherings of more than 30 will remain illegal.

Dr Hilary Jones warned hugs could pose a risk ahead of social distancing rules loosening next week as he joined the programme.

‘This showing of human affection through touch, through a hug, is very beneficial in most circumstances, but right now, it might be a mistake because we’ve got these new variants,’ he said.

‘We’ve still got 2,000 cases that we know about every day… so it is still time to be cautious.’

It was announced last month that journalist and broadcaster Alistair would be joining the ITV show as a guest host alongside Susanna Reid, presenting on weekdays throughout Mental Health Awareness Week.

After storming off the set earlier this year, Piers Morgan spoke out about Alastair Campbell temporarily replacing him on Good Morning Britain.

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.

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