THE nation, it seems, has really gone off that Phil and Holly.

Worse still, some This Morning viewers have enough time on their hands to organise pitchfork petitions demanding a public sacking.

The ITV show’s simpering presenters Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby got less flak for hosting a wholly tasteless “win your energy bills” wheel of fortune just a few weeks ago.

Entertainment? There’s nothing like watching well-paid celebrities wincing in apparent worry over where the dial may stop – and whether Sandy is going to be able to heat her home this winter. Squid Game was kinder.

The alleged “queue-jumping” in Westminster Hall has clearly caused greater upset though, which actually seems strange because everybody who did queue up to see the Queen lying in state has spent the following days endlessly telling anyone who will listen what an amazing experience it all was.

It surely figures then, the more people who pushed in, the longer the queue – and that equals more unforgettable hours showing the world the best of Britishness and living the rarely challenged fable that we all love to queue.

Against the backdrop of David Beckham and GMB’s Susanna Reid joining the line, Phil and Holly’s appearance in the hall didn’t make for good optics and the “we’re journalists” excuse was a little thin.

But maybe the queue-jumper passes were simply handed out too freely. Not only did MPs – and a few of their pals – qualify, but the lesser heard members of the London Assembly were also allowed to skip the wait.

What you think about that, and how close it comes to Phil and Holly’s offence, probably hangs on how urgent you think the work of those assembly members is, and whether they simply could not have queued up on their day off, if they wanted to see the coffin so much – like everybody else.

Harrington could not make a case for all of them. The city might just have been able to manage without one or two, or ten of them, for eight hours on Sunday.