The U.K. lockdowns cost more lives than they saved and must not happen again, scientists have told MPs.
The comments came at the latest meeting of the Pandemic Recovery APPG, a group of MPs and Peers from across the political spectrum united by their aim to find new pandemic solutions which prevent avoidable suffering and loss. Chaired by Labour MP Graham Stringer, the group listened to evidence on whether lockdowns were an effective or ethical public health measure.
All the experts voiced serious concerns about the catastrophic damage lockdowns have done to society and the untested departure they represented from previous public health policy.
Dr. Mark Woolhouse, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh and author of The Year The World Went Mad, opened the expert testimony:
I never imagined that in early 2020 we would come up with a public health intervention that risked causing even more damage than the disease. Were lives saved during the lockdowns? Yes, but it is not widely known that most of the people who died in the first wave got infected during lockdown. We should have put far more effort into protecting those people and those around them – lockdown didn’t save them. At the same time, we should have dropped the least effective measures much more quickly than we did and avoided the second and third lockdowns entirely.
There are lessons to be learnt here: if your pandemic response plan involves anything as damaging as lockdown you need to plan in advance to deal with the collateral harms too. It was difficult to have a proper debate about the pros and cons of lockdown in the frenzied atmosphere of March 2020 but we must have that debate now if we are to avoid such a harmful policy in future pandemics. If we’d taken a more balanced approach in 2020 we could have saved many lives and largely kept out of lockdown too. That is why I wrote my book, to elucidate the damage to people’s lives, to education, to the economy, and to health thanks to people being told to stay away from the NHS. Lockdowns were not a proportionate or sustainable intervention and the forthcoming inquiry needs to take a critical view of their role.
Speaking about the ethics of lockdown, Dr. Philip Thomas, Professor of Risk Management at Bristol University, said:
My field is risk management and, when I look at the use of lockdown, it strikes me that the Government didn’t give enough consideration to the collateral damage such a wide-ranging measure would cause to the economy, perhaps not realising the likely size of the knock-on, adverse effects on people’s health and life expectancy. Vast sums of money were spent to reduce the risk of Covid using lockdowns but, in its efforts to save one group of people from harm, the Government may have exposed others to even greater damage. We have to realise that the trade-off is not between lives and money, but lives versus lives.
The Government and its advisers do not seem to have recognised the extent of the downside risks before implementing a public health intervention that had never before been used on such a scale. In addition, the modelling upon which the lockdowns were decided could not be relied on, when models could, in fact, have given very good insights, something I have demonstrated with judging risk using the J-value. The pandemic could have been managed differently.
Chairing the meeting, MP Graham Stringer said:
I have made no secret of my concerns about the Government’s handling of the pandemic from the outset but hearing what our speakers have said, I fear that these repeated lockdowns will go down as one of the worst public health measures ever undertaken. Hindsight is a great thing, but it is clear that the decision making process that led to repeated lockdowns was seriously flawed. There was inadequate consideration of the policies and all the available evidence, let alone any risk assessment to protect against doing more harm than good.
We have heard compelling evidence from Professor Philip Thomas, whose comprehensive analysis suggests that the net effect of U.K. COVID-19 restrictions has actually increased the loss of life. I hope the use of lockdowns and all their ramifications is something that the U.K. COVID-19 Inquiry will not shy away from very closely and critically scrutinising. It cannot be allowed to happen again.
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Luke Johnson, talking about the economic devastation, said:
Lockdown was a disproportionate, discriminatory and imprecise intervention which has caused immense harm to society and the economy, in particular the hospitality industry. There were no studies or papers to demonstrate that such measures were effective. Instead, it is now clearer than ever that lockdowns were counterproductive. Why did we not focus protection on those we knew were at highest risk? The Government and its advisers simply decided to unilaterally shut down the whole of society on the basis of no scientific evidence and no understanding of the consequences.
Many businesses suffered. Jobs have been lost, lives have been destroyed. These things do not happen in a vacuum. The advisers and ministers who championed repeated lockdowns have not had to put their careers on the line. No cost benefit analysis has ever been done and not one of those affected has been included in the decision making. The victims of lockdown did not seem to matter, whether economic or health. All that mattered was the public appearance of SAGE’s and the Government’s response to Covid. I hope what I said here will hit home and these mistakes will never be repeated.
The group heard lastly from Nick Stokes, a former NHS trust Chairman, whose wife of 46 years, Joy Stokes, died of cancer that went undiagnosed due to NHS COVID-19 restrictions imposed by lockdown:
Joy was the life and soul and the love of my life. She had recovered from breast cancer following a mastectomy and nine months of chemotherapy. She bounced back, playing golf, seeing friends and busy with life. Her last mammogram was clear but at the start of lockdown she was getting pain in her hip which by October became severe. Her doctor did not want to know and dismissed it as arthritis.
We tried to access a physio though we could not see one in person. None of the treatments were helping. The private physio we tried wrote to our doctors to say Joy needed an X-ray or a scan but we continued to be given the run around until it was too late. By the time Joy got to hospital, the cancer had spread into her bones and then her brain. I talked to the oncology team after she died and they were sure, had she been seen and referred earlier they would have been able to control it and Joy would most likely still be here.
Vice Chair of the APPG Sammy Wilson MP said:
The impact of lockdowns on countless lives has been and continues to be devastating. It is clear that lockdown was an ill-thought out and ill-advised policy which should have never been deployed. One of the awful knock-on effects was to effectively shut down access to healthcare for all non-Covid treatment and we heard the tragic outcome of that in the harrowing testimony from Nick Stokes.
We also heard about the economic devastation from Luke Johnson and the very real impact that has had on people. Lives and livelihoods have been lost, and will continue to be, as a direct result of lockdowns. The U.K. COVID-19 Inquiry must ask the question: why did we lockdown, not once but three times?
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Not good news. Seems he/Trump caved in to the leftard violence against Tesla. That just emboldens the fascists.
Will DOGE survive? Will the US survive the coming civil war that the Leftards are agitating for, and apparently planning for?
Whitehouse says story is bollox.
Yes don’t see it anywhere else.
Good news if false. It would just show weakness as the leftard fascists gear up to start a civil war.
yep, when a 2nd April article quotes an article written the day before …
I suspect it was his activities in Wisconsin for this week’s election that created the pressure from the Cabinet that put him over the edge.
Meantime, fun while it lasted. And hopefully lessons learned now by Cabinet and some trickle into UK (probably not).
Whatever els3 the Overton window has shifted considerably.
If only Tesla made a petrol powered truck I’d seriously consider buying one.
In the spirit of solidarity.
If Tesla did make a proper car it wouldn’t be possible as a business – the ONLY way it has ever turned a profit is by having greenwashing politicians shower it with money for “saving the planet”.
Musk is a genius, just not in the ways most people think.
Yes, and no. The money was there, and he took it, and spent it saving free speech for sceptics.
I think he is indeed a business and engineering genius.
“I think he is indeed a business and engineering genius.”
Please qualify this statement.
Did that rocket really ‘return to base’?
And in the Private Sector?
Amazing!
Trump has realised what I have known since 2016 at least : Musk is an effing liability and a conman.
No on this I disagree. He is certainly a multifaceted character but amongst the great tech bilionaires he’s a stand out figure.
“Stand out figure”… for what, exactly?
By far the smartest, capable of independent thinking and my gut instinct is he’s broadly on the side of freedom and individualism.
But I also have hunch that nothing I say will change your mind, so there we are.
MDS muchly?
What does MDS mean?
Musk Derangement Syndrome?
Not at all. I know too much about him.
DOGE is bigger than Musk (as it should be). He has shown what can be done and has assembled a good team.
The DOGE concept and it’s underlying principles are sound. I think it is probably a good time for Musk to step back.
Thinking seems to be he’s established it, and him stepping back will remove an obvious hate figure for the left to attack, while allowing DOGE to continue to pursue efficiencies – Tesla share price could do with a little more of Musks focus I’d say as well, so good move
This split is being dressed up as amicable because:
Trump is vain and proud and can’t admit to having been conned by someone he so publicly got into bed with.
Musk has realised the game is up now that Trump has figured him out for what he is and cannot afford to fall out with Trump lest Trump gets angry and tells the world the real reason he has kicked him out.
Mark my words. I have been watching Musk closely since 2011.
And don’t give me all the “Musk has saved free speech” crap. The minute it suits him he will be censoring Twitter/X. He already has, regarding negative events at SpaceX. Heck, the reason he bought Twitter was to silence critics of Tesla. Musk is a very petty person and a megalomaniac and a bully.
I am not happy about any of this. The state, US state included, needs to be shrunk, of course, and I hope DOGE continues.
Reminder: Musk wanted Trump on side to protect Tesla despite Trump’s very necessary war against all things “save the planet” (electric cars being one of those things). Without TSLA being the price it is, Musk is DEAD IN THE WATER.
If I was wealthier than I am, I would now be taking out a strong SHORT position in TSLA. It’s something I was considering a while back, thank god I didn’t pull the trigger…
As always, follow the money.
Good luck to all.
But you’re not wealthy he’s the richest man in the world.
That tells me he’s doing something right which you’re not unless of course material comforts are not your cup of tea, which is also an entirely legitimate indeed admirable position.
I have no problem with wealthy people. I consider myself successful enough in this regard and I am very happy with my life and achievements so far. But it’s the manner in which Elon has become wealthy – theft and crony capitalism.
And by the way – despite what is written everywhere (including in the article referenced above), he did not found Tesla, for a start. He stole it, and drove the founder to an early grave.
And his wealth is almost entirely in TSLA paper. Which, if the price crashes, will leave your hero all but penniless.
Musk MUST continue to sell his TSLA, to fund his incredibly wasteful and messed up endeavours (private and professional). But he mustn’t sell too much, because he could trigger a rush by all to sell. That’s already happening, anyway…
Don’t suffer from Hero Worship. If you do, at least choose someone perhaps worthy of it. Your first candidates should be those people you know, first hand.
Correction, I was wrong that Martin Eberhard (co-founder of Tesla with Marc Tarpenning in 2003) died, he has not. Apologies. Not sure why I thought that.
And there’s me thinking it’s because he wants to spend more time with his ever-expanding family.
Is it 14 kids he’s up to now? Does he live with any of them? Where does he even find the time to be a dad?
Kids preferably need a present father growing up, not a mostly absent sperm donor. No amount of money can be a substitute for that.
How do you know he’s not present or doesn’t want to be present?
Has it not occurred to you that perhaps these various mothers simply wanted to have a kid by the most brilliant and virile man in the world?
Do you actually understand human nature?
How can you be “present” in 14 kids’ lives, who are all obviously at various stages in their childhood, reaching milestones and going through the different challenges of child development along the way? Do you even have the first clue what you’re on about?
“Human nature”, as I understand it, generally means a man wants to father children and actually stick around to bring them up. I know, right? Radical.
Do you happen to be privy to the set-up of Musk’s personal family life? Because I never said I was. But if he’s got that amount of kids with several women he can hardly be fully committed to being a dad to all AND a successful businessman of this calibre, can he?
Or perhaps this basic concept didn’t occur to you, given you so obviously idolise the guy and think the sun shines out of his arse.
Jack is suffering from a bad case of Hero Worship where Musk is concerned. I understand he isn’t alone.
Totally. I mean, for sure the guy has done some impressive stuff and I’m not going to deny he’s transformed Twitter compared to what it was, but nobody is beyond reproach. Some people acting like we’ve just insulted their mother because we dare to say anything critical about the world’s richest man that nobody’s ever going to meet..LOL Blimey. Probably a man-crush
“…most brilliant and virile man in the world”
Keep drinking the Koolaid, Jack!
https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2025/04/02/fake-news-karoline-leavitt-calls-report-that-musk-is-on-the-outs-at-doge-garbage-n2187426
The Mail story, and this repost, **might** be fake news.
Whitehouse says it is bollox.
I think that one of the main reasons was this:
“…There were mutterings of tension with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Musk was reported to not follow the White House chain of command, which would require him to keep Wiles in the loop more.”
He was trying to do a lot of pioneering stuff, and I reckon the woman drove him out by endless nagging complaints, in order to solidify her own authority, and put the brakes on everything.
Who was organizing all the terrorist attacks on Tesla, we wonder? It’s all very strange.
”Musk is a “special government employee,” which has a 130-day time limit, meaning he was scheduled to go back to business life at the end May anyway.”
Seems highly unlikely; with only a month to go Musk would simply depart with the message “foundations of DOGE well established” and everyone’s egos in tact.
Surprised the Sceptic has fallen for this. Musk has an opportunity to make history. History that will be blurred out in any corporate success. Musk is no Henry Ford in terms of EV’S. My milk float was electric 60 years ago
FAKE NEWS ALERT
Musk is going nowhere, suggest DS corrects its post
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/04/fake-news-media-says-elon-musk-is-stepping/
Erm, what does POTUS say? Has he said it’s fake?
Draining the swamp was never going to be easy. Elon has made a fantastic contribution to exposing and destroying widespread corruption. We need to do the same in the UK. Vote Reform.
People need to be very careful about supporting Musk.
.
His words are all very splendid but everything he does, from building ridiculous and unnecessary electric vehicles to littering our skies with low orbit satellites, seem tailor made for the digital gulag the so called “elites” are determined to lock all of humanity in.
Right from the beginning it was planned for Musk’s position to be temporary.