Morgan slammed Jones as a 'whiny brat' who was able to 'prattle his communist nonsense' thanks to Churchill
PIERS Morgan has blasted lefty columnist Owen Jones for slamming Winston Churchill in the latest outburst against the hero wartime leader.
The pair locked horns after the commentator argued that parts of history were being "airbrushed" from collective memory - including the man famed for leading Britain to victory in the Second World War.
Jones said this portrayal of the Second World War as "almost an arm wrestle between Churchill and Hitler" ignored the role of millions of Brits and Soviet allies who played a key role in defeating Nazism.
Speaking on Sky News, he also quotes from an article by Lord Finklestein in The Times in which he referred to Churchill as a "racist" and a "lifelong white supremacist".
He was quickly rebutted by radio presenter Patrick Christys, who responded saying: "If it wasn't for Winston Churchill we'd be living in a Nazi-occupied German colony."
And in reference to a spat sparked by shadow chancellor John McDonnell, he argued: "He calls him a villain - but that's despite the fact he defeated the biggest villain in history, Adolf Hitler."
The "villain" comment refers to McDonnell criticising Churchill over his decision to send troops to crush the Tonypandy riots in south Wales in 1910.
The only reason whiny little brats like you are able to prattle your communist nonsense is because Churchill saved our democratic freedom by rousing Britain to defy the Nazis
Piers Morgan, tweeting at Owen Jones
Piers Morgan also joined the chorus of Churchill supporters online, telling Jones on Twitter: "Oh pipe down, Pipsqueak.
"The only reason whiny little brats like you are able to prattle your communist nonsense is because Churchill saved our democratic freedom by rousing Britain to defy the Nazis."
The spat comes just weeks after Morgan slammed Scottish MSP Ross Greer after he criticised Churchill openly on Good Morning Britain.
Both Jones and Greer used similar arguments about Churchill's attitude to Indians and his role in the Bengal Famine.
"Churchill said they were beastly people and it was a beastly religion and their fault for dying because they bred like rabbits," Jones told Sky News.
"We've got to start talking about our history in the round because at the moment we airbrush it out of existence, it's not just about Churchill [but also] the Empire.
"We won't understand our place in the world or relationship with the end of the world or issues like racism today without understanding that."
You can’t judge a mans actions from nearly 80 years ago during extraordinary times by today’s moral standards, it’s absolutely absurd
Alan Smith, Twitter user
Jones lashed out at Morgan's response on Twitter, writing: "Piers Morgan is a thought experiment of whether it's possible to be simultaneously stupider, more arrogant and less charming than Donald Trump which has gone very badly wrong."
Social media users were also divided on the debate, but many questioned whether this debate was the most pressing to be having in 2019.
Phil wrote: "I agree we shouldn't airbrush the reality of the most unsavoury aspects of Winston Churchill from our history. But neither should we airbrush out his more positive aspects.
"The pantomime "goody" vs pantomime "baddy" discussion of recent weeks has been utterly pathetic."
Gary Chapman added: "Winston Churchill wasn’t a great politician but he roused the country to fight Nazism.
"Without Churchill, you and I may not be here today."
While Alan Smith added: "You can’t judge a mans actions from nearly 80 years ago during extraordinary times by today’s moral standards, it’s absolutely absurd."
But Theresa May has publicly backed the controversial figure, saying she regarded Churchill as “one of the great prime ministers of the 20th century”.
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