The Chase’s Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett blocks fans amid backlash over ‘Say no to lockdown’ tweet

Labbett had used the hashtag #SayNoToLockdown

The Chase  star Mark Labbett, known to fans as “The Beast”, has been criticised for his response to the idea of a second coronvirus lockdown.

On social media, the quiz expert wrote that people should “say no to lockdown”, amid concerns that the recent spike in infection rates in the UK will necessitate another period of enforced social distancing.

After facing a backlash for his remark, Labbett wrote that he had been “blocking a lot of people” on the social media website.

“Politics is all about discussion/argument but questioning my intelligence is pretty counterproductive,” he added.

Labbett joins personalities including the Stone Roses singer Ian Brown and Irish musician Van Morrison in voicing his opposition to lockdown conditions.

However, data has proven that the lockdown reduced infection and transmission rates, bringing the overall rate of coronavirus-related deaths down.

“I'd rather we did everything we could to protect everyone else, no matter what the cost,” wrote one Twitter user in response to Labbett’s words.

“I’ve lost a lot of respect for you over this pandemic, I thought you were supposed to be intelligent,” wrote another. “But your words literally endanger lives.”

Earlier this year, Labbett came under fire after he stormed off the set of The Chase and punched a wall when a contestant bested him.

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The popular ITV quiz show sees a group of contestants challenge the specialist “chasers” (of which Labbett is one) in rounds of quickfire trivia questions.