Former Mirror editor turned CNN current-affairs host Piers Morgan has racked up enemies (and some fans) the fast way in his adopted country – by leading the debate on gun control in the aftermath of the cinema shootings in Aurora, Denver.

In a country where the well-funded gun lobby argues that the spree could have been curtailed if only someone else in the cinema had been armed, Morgan probably never seemed so British to US viewers than in his call on Friday’s Piers Tonight for more gun laws.

He followed this up with a passionate response to Denver University professor David Kopel’s suggestion that it was “the wrong night” for the debate.

“A lot of people who don’t want strengthening of gun control have said this is not the day to debate it,” Morgan interjected. “I’ll tell you the day to debate it – it would have been yesterday, to prevent this from happening.”

Not everyone agrees. Fellow CNN presenter Howard Kurtz, host of media show Reliable Sources, criticised both CNN and MSNBC for turning “such an atrocity into ideological fodder while the victims are still being treated”.

Morgan insisted via Twitter that his stance on assault weapons did not conflict with the US constitution’s second-amendment right to bear arms, which he claimed he fully understood.

His producer, Jonathan Wald – who as an American can’t be accused of failing to grasp cultural differences – was more acerbic: “Is it too soon to talk about what a hot summer we’re having or should we wait for fall to gain more perspective?”

The show has continued its unapologetic charge, with Morgan interviewing the most high-profile US politician to argue in favour of gun control, New York mayor and businessman Michael Bloomberg.