Matt Le Tissier has hit out at the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, accusing Westminster of “copying China”.
Le Tissier, who has been criticised for his controversial views on the virus, believes the collateral damage left by the restrictions show that it “was the wrong thing to do".
Speaking exclusively to GB News, the footballing legend said: “We had a pandemic plan that was in place, but they just threw it out the window and just copied China which for me seems incredibly bizarre and something just didn’t seem right about it.
“From the start, the reaction to it was way over the top and was always going to give us problems down the line with the collateral damage with the lockdowns.
Matt Le Tissier
GB News
Mr Le Tissier believes the national lockdowns were the "wrong thing to do"
Peter Byrne
“And I don’t think that was ever taken into consideration when choosing to locked people in their houses, stop kids going to school, the amount of cancer patients that were not seen, and I just felt like it was the wrong thing to do.
“And as I have a freedom of speech and live in a supposedly free country, I made my views known and some people didn’t like that."
When asked whether he had ever received criticism for his views before the pandemic, Le Tissier replied: “No I’ve never experienced anything like this in my 51 years of life before Covid-19 hit really.
“The last two years has really changed everything, the world has changed and it appears if you don’t agree with the Government sentiment on any given subject now that you will try to be silenced and censored.
“And I’m sorry, I didn’t realise we were living in China.”
Le Tissier's comments come a month after he stepped down from his role as Southampton club ambassador over a tweet about the Ukraine war.
The former Premier League striker quote tweeted a post which claimed media organisations were lying about several topics, including weapons of mass destruction and the "truth about Bucha".
Le Tissier later retracted the tweet, adding a post which read: “Deleted previous tweet as people as usual missing the point, the point was about the media manipulation but you knew that really.”
He posted again to make his stance clear, adding: “Let me make something very clear I do not advocate war in any way shape or form I do not advocate anyone taking lives of others and anyone who commits such acts should be dealt with accordingly, any atrocities leave devastating effects on the families of the victims and us all."