Gordon Ramsay criticised for leaving London to go to second home in Cornwall during lockdown
‘This is your second home and you should not be on holiday,’ tweets critic
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Gordon Ramsay has been criticised for leaving London to spend lockdown in his second home in Cornwall.
The British chef has been living in his £4.4million home alongside his four children and his wife, Tana Ramsay.
Ramsay spoke about how lockdown has impacted his life on Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp, teasing that every day was like “groundhog day”.
But the chef has been criticised by local residents, who are concerned that Ramsay is putting local people “at risk” travelling from London to the countryside during the pandemic.
Many have also pointed out that the government has urged Britons to remain in their “primary residence” so as not to put additional strains and demands on local services.
“This over-privileged t*** cares nothing for the people who live here,” tweeted one person.
“To him we’re just ‘locals’ who should know our place.”
Another added: “The rules are clear, don’t go to your holiday home, a rule the even applies to celeb chefs”.
However, some people defended Ramsay, with one person tweeting: “He has a home in Cornwall and if he chooses to live in it whilst this crisis is with us why is that a problem, he’s not on holiday.
“Don’t make out that he’s this or he’s that, he brings a lot to Cornwall including investment and work for local people in the projects he runs.”
Criticisms against Ramsay come after MPs in the South West of England warned that tourists would put unnecessary strains on the NHS.
Last month, Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay urged tourists not to come to the area.
Mr Double said on Facebook: “We have enough to deal with on our own without people coming here with the virus.
“As a proud Cornishman I never thought I would say this, but please do not come to Cornwall for a holiday in the coming weeks.”
Regarding Ramsay’s decision to leave London for Cornwall, a friend of the family told The Independent: “The family sees Cornwall as their family home when the kids are back from uni and Gordon is back from filming around the world it’s where they spend all their family time together, they’ve been spending time there for 10 years and Jack actually lives in the house there full-time too.
“Most of their neighbours are so welcoming and they love being part of the community. They’ve been following the government advice along with the rest of the country since they arrived on 20 March and the campaign against them is hurtful and unnecessary at a time when we should all be coming together and supporting each other.”
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