Tories and their supporters are trying to play down the Guardian’s revelation of Dominic Cummings’ participation in meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Revealed: Cummings is on secret scientific advisory group for Covid-19, 24 April), insisting he had no effect on its advice.
Some claim he would have had no influence on a room full of experts, but it should never be assumed that the least well-informed person in the room will defer to the better-informed; more often the reverse is true. Scientists are, both by nature and training, cautious in what we say and recommend, preferring to wait for firm evidence. Those driven by ideology, like Cummings, are the polar opposite. We need to know whether he used his influence to delay UK lockdown by those few crucial weeks in March.
Dr Richard Milne
University of Edinburgh
• Sir Patrick Vallance tells us that by not making members of Sage known to the public he was protecting the scientists from “lobbying and other forms of unwanted influence which may hinder their ability to give impartial advice”. His change of heart about this protection is undoubtedly driven by the leaked information about the makeup of the group, as reported by the Guardian.
However, possible damage may have already been done regarding “unwanted influence” on the group’s impartiality by the participation in several meetings of two ardent Brexiter government advisers. What Sir Patrick needs to do is ensure these two characters do not attend such meetings in future.
Gary Bennett
Exeter
• The explicit basis for the membership of Sage being kept out of the public domain was, so Sir Patrick Vallance wrote to Greg Clark, to protect the members from exposure to “unwanted influence”. What would Dominic Cummings represent if not precisely that?
Dr Mike Gill
London
• There is a simple solution to the concern that scientific advice is being contaminated by politics. The Bank of England routinely publishes the minutes of its monetary policy committee. The public copes with the knowledge that economic experts sometimes disagree. In the same way, the government should publish the minutes of Sage meetings.
Willy McCourt
London
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