• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Government lockdown adviser quits after breaking his own lockdown rules

Professor Neil Ferguson resigned after a breach of social distancing rules involving a woman said to be his lover.

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
May 6, 2020
in News

A scientist whose research aided Boris Johnson’s decision to impose a lockdown has resigned from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) after admitting an “error of judgment”.

Professor Neil Ferguson said on Tuesday that he regretted “undermining” the continued need for social distancing to tackle coronavirus after it was claimed he broke the rules.

The Telegraph reported that he allowed a woman, said to be his “lover”, to visit him at home in London on at least two occasions during the lockdown, on March 30 and April 8.

“I acted in the belief that I was immune”

Prof Ferguson’s research with Imperial College London colleagues warned that 250,000 people could die in the UK without drastic action before the Prime Minister imposed the restrictions.

“I accept I made an error of judgment and took the wrong course of action. I have therefore stepped back from my involvement in Sage,” Prof Ferguson said.

“I acted in the belief that I was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus, and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms.

“I deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing to control this devastating epidemic. The Government guidance is unequivocal, and is there to protect all of us.”

RelatedPosts

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe freed – but may face new charges in Iran

1% NHS pay rise ‘an insult’, says son of nurse killed by Covid-19

Brexit is battering UK-EU trade flows, shocking figures show

Nasa’s groundbreaking Mars rover hits the dusty red road in first trip

No excuse for not following social distancing rules

A Government spokesman confirmed Prof Ferguson had stepped back from his role.

Security Minister James Brokenshire said Prof Ferguson had “made the right decision” in resigning from Sage.

He told Sky News: “Professor Ferguson, I think, has obviously made his statement underlining that there’s no excuse for not following the social distancing rules, and I think he’s made the right decision here.

“The work of Sage continues and obviously we will continue to be informed by that group and the experts that provide that support to the Government.”

Immunity

Asked whether Prof Ferguson’s comments about immunity – in which he stated that he believed he was immune after contracting Covid-19 – should be taken seriously, Mr Brokenshire said it is “too early” to reach conclusions.

His is not the first high-profile resignation of the pandemic, with Dr Catherine Calderwood having quit as Scotland’s chief medical officer after making two trips to her second home.

Prof Ferguson, a mathematician and epidemiologist, led the Imperial team which modelled the spread and impact of Covid-19 in a Government-commissioned report.

The paper said merely slowing the spread of the virus, which had at that point been the aim, would have led to the NHS being overwhelmed by cases.

Around 250,000 people would have died in the UK in that scenario but the research said stricter measures would drastically reduce this.

Lockdown measures

In the report’s wake, the Prime Minister announced the lockdown on March 23 ordering the public to stay at home as he shut most shops and gave police unprecedented enforcement powers.

Under those measures, partners who do not live together were told they can no longer see each other.

Prof Ferguson said on March 18 that he had the fever and cough symptoms of Covid-19 and that there was a small risk he had infected others.

“The more serious point is that it highlights the need for the response which has been enacted,” he said at the time.

Following his recovery from the symptoms, he later told the BBC that “significant levels of social distancing” would be required until a vaccine has been developed.

“We will have to maintain some level of social distancing“

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last month, he said: “If we want to reopen schools, let people get back to work, then we need to keep transmission down in another manner.

“It is not going to go back to normal, we will have to maintain some level of social distancing – significant levels of social distancing – probably indefinitely until we have a vaccine available.”

A statement from Imperial College London said Prof Ferguson “continues to focus on his important research”.

Related: Jacinda Ardern’s progressive leadership has been a shining beacon of light in these uncertain times

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

‘We gave as much as we possibly can’ to NHS heroes, Boris claims

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe freed – but may face new charges in Iran

Image by AdobeStock

Weather forecast, alerts and UVB index for London, Sunday 7 March 2021

Enraged NHS staff plan nationwide protests over 1% pay rise plan

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.