Ashfield MP Gloria De Piero dragged into Esther McVey and Lorraine Kelly GMTV row

The former Work and Pensions Secretary was snubbed by the ITV presenter live on air last week, sparking an unlikely feud.

A clip showing Lorraine’s cold shoulder of McVey went viral after Susanna Reid asked if the ITV star remembered McVey.

During a handover, Susanna Reid said: “Do you remember Esther McVey from her GMTV days?"

Ms Kelly replied: "Yep. Yes I do. Right, coming up after half past eight."

Ms Kelly later added that she disagrees with McVey’s position on LGBT+ rights, after the politician appeared to suggest parents had the right to remove their children from LGBT+-inclusive lessons.

A friend of Ms McVey told The Daily Express the worst mistake the politician had made during her time on GMTV in the 1990s was “coming out as a Tory” among “lefties”, referring to presenters Fiona Phillips and Kate Garraway, and Gloria De Piero, who was the programme’s political editor.

Ms De Piero left the show in 2010 to become a Labour MP, and had led the party’s student wing alongside Tom Watson, who she shared a flat with, before entering journalism.

According to The Daily Express, Ms McVey’s friend added: “The worst mistake she ever made was coming out as a Tory”.

“GMTV was like a cabal of Lefties with Fiona Phillips, Gloria De Piero and Kate Garraway.”

Ms McVey, who was knocked out of the Tory leadership race last week claimed that the animosity was because she had been “promoted” over Ms Kelly when they worked together.

However, Ms Phillips, who was the main anchor on GMTV for 11 years, accused Ms McVey of lying because she had never had a permanent job on the show.

“My mum told me at a very young age: ‘Don’t bother telling untruths because you’ll always get found out’,” she wrote in The Mirror.

“I wonder if Tory Leadership hopeful, Esther McVey was told that as a child?”

A spokeswoman for Gloria De Piero said: "Gloria did not work with her [Esther McVey], they didn't work there at the same time, so she wouldn't comment."