Critics are calling out Keir Starmer for going back on his promise for change by appointing Sir Patrick Vallance as a minister. The Telegraph has more.
Sir Patrick was unveiled as the new Minister of State for Science on Friday, having served as the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser from 2018 to 2023.
He became a household name during the Covid pandemic and would appear most days at televised briefings with Boris Johnson, the then Prime Minister, and Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Adviser.
Speaking at the Covid Inquiry in November, Sir Patrick suggested lockdowns should have been “broader”, “harder” and “earlier”, while also arguing local restrictions were left too late.
Sir Keir came under fire after appointing the scientist to his frontbench team by those who questioned the severity of coronavirus policies at the time.
Richard Tice, the Chairman of Reform U.K. and the new MP for Boston and Skegness, co-founded the party with Nigel Farage during the second national lockdown to oppose the Government’s direction of travel.
Mr. Tice told the Telegraph: “The reality is that we’ve been proven right on lockdowns, they were catastrophic at every level.
“What Starmer is doing is reinforcing the status quo. He’s actually, in a sense, protecting the objective of the Covid Inquiry, which is to validate the recommendations of the likes of Vallance and Whitty.
“Frankly, I think this appointment is a major conflict of interest and as such it’s disgraceful. There’s no change, there’s actually a doubling down of the establishment protecting itself.”
Worth reading in full.
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