ITV Good Morning Britain in hot water for giving Matt Hancock 'airtime' as he pledges to house Ukraine refugees

Good Morning Britain has come under fire from viewers as Matt Hancock appeared on the programme.

Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley were joined by the former health secretary live in the studio during Tuesday's edition of the ITV news programme.

Mr Hancock's appearance on the show came after he revealed that he plans to welcome Ukrainian refugees into his Suffolk constituency home.

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The West Suffolk MP, who was forced to resign from his role as health secretary after he was caught on leaked CCTV breaking coronavirus guidelines, shared on Twitter that he had signed up to the government scheme and urged his constituents to do the same.

He explained his decision as he spoke out over a 'visa sponsorship scheme' on GMB.

Mr Hancock, who was wearing a Ukrainian pin on the show, told the hosts: "I have signed up to take a family. It will be around five. It is a sponsored visa scheme so you take the fact somebody is willing to vouch for you."

He added: "I am not there all the time. In my constituency, I will be able to do this. I live both there and in London. I am not there all of the time because as an MP, I have a flat in London."

As he was challenged on some of the complexities around the 'Homes for Ukraine' scheme which launched on Monday (March 14) and requires both parties to do a lot of paperwork, Mr Hancock said: "In my case, I've been working with a British-Ukrainian whose family is trying to get out of Ukraine and we were talking about what happens when they get here, and I just feel so strongly about it.

"Whether it's that family, or whether it's another family that comes through a different route, I'm opening my home.