Gordon Ramsay has come under fire for spending lockdown at his holiday home in Cornwall, but it’s claimed he’s always thought of the beachfront property as his ‘family home’.
Locals have reportedly been posting messages hitting out at Gordon for leaving London and heading to Cornwall with his family during the coronavirus lockdown.
The Sun reports that the move irked locals and they had slammed the celebrity chef in a private Facebook group, where they suggested he is an ‘arrogant second homer immune from the virus and any rules’.
Gordon had headed down to Cornwall with wife Tana and their five children – Megan, 22, twins Jack and Holly, 20, Matilda, 18, and son Oscar, who recently turned one – when lockdown measures in the UK were first introduced.
And a friend close to the family has hit back at the criticism, calling it a ‘hurtful and unnecessary’ campaign’, as the Ramsays see Cornwall as they ‘family home’ and usually spend most of their time there.
They told Metro.co.uk: ‘The family see Cornwall as their family home when the kids are back from uni and Gordon 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.’
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The friend added: ‘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.’
It comes after Dragon’s Den star Deobrah Meaden hit out at those heading to their holiday homes during the lockdown and urged people to recognise the risk such a move brings with it.
She tweeted: ‘Stay at Home this weekend does NOT mean go to your Holiday Home.
‘If you are lucky enough to have one, think of the risks you take with you AND the risk to those who don’t have space and gardens in their homes if you trigger further lockdown measures. The locals won’t thank you.’
Gordon, meanwhile, has also found himself facing backlash for laying off 500 staff after being forced to temporarily close his restaurants to adhered to government measures that ordered bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants to close.
There are currently more than 55,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, with the number of deaths now reaching 6, 227.
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