‘Professor Lockdown’ Admits Measures Made Little Difference

During his evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee on Tuesday, he said:

“They [Swedish scientists] came to a different policy conclusion based really on quite similar science. I don’t agree with it but scientifically they’re not far from scientists in any part of the world.”

He then acknowledged that the Swedish authorities had “got a long way to the same effect” without a full lockdown.

In other words, in the type of roundabout waffling way you’d expect from a bumbling boffin, the scientist – dubbed ‘Professor Lockdown’ after he cajoled Boris Johnson into bringing the British economy to a screeching halt  – reckons Sweden has essentially coped very well without being forced into any draconian lockdown, thank you very much.

So where was the indignation about how his recommendations f****d up the economy and made people prisoners in their own homes? It certainly wasn’t to be seen splashed across any British front pages. Indeed, it was hard enough to find much, if any, coverage of this very significant news story on Wednesday.

It was buried inside the Daily Telegraph on page seven, running across a third of a page or less, with a very accurate subheading stating in clear black and white:

 “Professor admits radical Scandinavian policy worked as well as British policy of shutting down.” 

The evidence from the two countries’ differing approaches has left the professor with little escape route. UK (full lockdown/businesses shut down): 579 Covid-19 deaths per million of population. Sweden (softer restrictions/businesses kept open): 442 deaths per million.

But why make such a startling confession now, when he could have wriggled away by saying it’s too early to assess the data as the disease is still running its course? The cynic in me wonders if Dr Ferguson’s matter-of-fact admission that a full lockdown probably didn’t make a blind bit of difference was fueled by ulterior motives.

Seeing as his own reputation is already in tatters, was it a warped act of revenge against Boris Johnson for being forced to fall on his sword after being caught breaking lockdown with his married lover?

Or here’s one for conspiracy theorists: instead of wanting to throw BoJo under the bus, could it have been a case of wanting to hide something else that’s about to come down the track?

With America now burning in the wake of the atrocious murder of George Floyd, the confession at this juncture reminds me somewhat of how a British government spin doctor sent out a memo only 30 minutes after the second plane hit the Twin Towers on 9/11 with the cynical recommendation that“it’s now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury.”