Labour’s Angela Rayner ‘worried’ for Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield after online abuse

Angela Rayner has said the online abuse aimed at Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, after they allegedly jumped the queue to see the Queen lying in state, has been “really damaging”.

Labour's deputy leader said social media companies need to “sort it out”, telling a fringe event at the party conference she was “worried” for the This Morning presenters.

More than 20,000 signed an online petition for the ITV breakfast show stalwarts to be sacked after they were given access to film a segment inside Westminster Hall while others waited for up to 22 hours to pay their respects to the late Queen.

Ms Rayner has been abused online herself and called for greater action on the issue, with This Morning viewers noticing Ms Willoughby appeared “emotional” on a broadcast on Wednesday.

"It hurts when people think that they can call you thick and all of those things,” Ms Rayner said at the conference, which runs until Thursday.

"I've seen what was happening with Phillip Schofield and Holly just recently.

"I've been worried about them because even though they are celebrities... they are human beings and I just think 'wow'.”

"It's your gaff, sort it out, you have responsibility to do that,” she added when asked how she would address social media companies.

"They've tried to self-regulate, they've tried to say 'we'll look after you'. They haven't, they've not been able to do it and now it's time for us to legislate."

ITV has defended the pair and there has not been any suggestion that either long-serving presenter will face action.

Ms Willoughby previously said: “Like hundreds of accredited broadcasters and journalists we were given official permission to access the hall. It was strictly for the purpose of reporting on the event for millions of people in the UK who have not been able to visit Westminster in person.”

A Parliamentary spokesperson added: “During the lying-in-state of HM Queen Elizabeth II, we gave media accreditation to journalists and media professionals across the world, who requested access to Westminster Hall for the purpose of reporting on the event for the millions of people in the UK and globally who weren’t able to visit Westminster in person.”

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has declined to comment.