The Covid Inquiry appears to be “fundamentally biased” and is failing to examine the costs of lockdown, 55 professors and academics have warned. The Telegraph has the story.
In a letter to Baroness Hallett, the inquiry Chairman, the group of 55 professors and academics express their concerns that the process is “not living up to its mission” to evaluate the mistakes made during the pandemic, assess whether Covid measures were appropriate, and to prepare the country for the next pandemic.
They warn that a “lack of neutrality” means the inquiry “gives the impression of being fundamentally biased” and appears to have led to “predetermined conclusions, for example, to lockdown faster next time”.
In the letter, published on Tuesday, the group states that the inquiry is neglecting to hear evidence from those who suffered from the “negative effects” of pandemic policy decisions, or scientists who disagree with choices made by the Government.
As the second module of the inquiry comes to a close, they call for this to be urgently addressed and greater focus to be placed on the “economic and social cost of Covid policies to British society”.
The letter was organised by Dr. Kevin Bardosh, an expert in infection medicine at Edinburgh University and Prof. Sunetra Gupta, an epidemiologist at Oxford University.
It comes as Richard Hughes, Chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, warned on Tuesday that worklessness had become a “worrying trend” in the economy since the pandemic.
Mr. Hughes told the Treasury Select Committee that the economy had been growing as a result of net migration but now the it was suffering from a reversal in its workforce amid “rising levels of inactivity and a falling participation rate”.
He said: “It looks as though persistently high levels of inactivity seem to be a feature of the post-pandemic environment and one which is worrying from the point of view of human welfare.”
Worth reading in full.
The full letter with all signatories is reprinted below.
An open letter to Baroness Hallett, Chair of the U.K. Covid Inquiry
The Inquiry must urgently address its apparent biases, assumptions, impartiality and lack of evidence-based approach
We, the undersigned, are a group of U.K. public health scholars and academics in related disciplines, widely published in our fields, deeply concerned that the Covid Inquiry is not living up to its mission to evaluate the mistakes made during the pandemic, whether Covid measures were appropriate and to prepare the country for the next pandemic.
First, the Inquiry gives the impression of being fundamentally biased. The Inquiry originated in legal petitions brought by bereaved family groups. Yet there has been little opportunity for petitions to be brought by those who have suffered from the negative effects of pandemic policy decisions. This is preventing a more holistic assessment of impacts on population health and wellbeing. This lack of neutrality appears to have led to biased reasoning and predetermined conclusions, for example, to lockdown faster next time.
Second, the Inquiry is taking key assumptions for granted instead of examining and critiquing them in light of the evidence. The consensus position in pre-2020 pandemic plans was that non-pharmaceutical interventions, including lockdown, had weak evidence of effectiveness, and were predicted to cause substantial harm to society, especially if used for prolonged periods. This informed the initial response to Covid in early 2020. Yet, the Inquiry assumes that these measures are effective and appropriate. As a result, it downplays the harms to society caused by two years of emergency infection control mandates.
Third, the Inquiry lacks impartiality in the selection and questioning of expert witnesses. It has given preferential treatment to scientific advisers on SAGE, who have a vested interest in maintaining the justification for their policy recommendations. Very few scientists with an alternative position have been asked to testify, and the Inquiry has been confrontational rather than inquisitorial in its questioning of these views. The Inquiry has not seriously questioned the hypotheses and assumptions offered to government, especially from government appointed modelers, which were used to justify Covid policies. Neither has it seriously examined the social and economic costs of lockdown. It has also stuck to an agenda of UK exceptionalism failing to recognise the experience elsewhere in the world.
Fourth, the format of the Inquiry is impeding investigation into the key scientific and policy questions. The Inquiry has adopted a legal format that prevents a systematic evaluation of the evidence by biomedical and social scientists on the harms of restrictions to the British public, the impact on Covid from policies such as mandatory NPIs, and the state of evidence for best practice. It is focused on who did or said what, rather than asking fundamental scientific questions. Yet investigating the interplay between harms, benefits, and best practice is critical to preparing for the next pandemic. The Inquiry, as currently functioning, appears unsuited to this task of national importance.
Fifth, the Inquiry risks reducing public trust in the impartiality and independence of government accountability and oversight. Its size and cost (by some estimates £300-500 million) will make it the largest public Inquiry ever undertaken to date, and yet its shortcomings, if not addressed, risk compromising the credibility of future public inquiries.
We believe the Inquiry has a significant and important mission and we would like to see it succeed. However, if it is to do so, these shortcomings need to be urgently addressed. The Inquiry must invite a much broader range of scientific experts with more critical viewpoints. It must also review the evidence on diverse topics so that it can be fully informed of relevant science and the economic and social cost of Covid policies to British society.
We, the undersigned, believe this is an urgent national priority and fundamental to ensuring that future pandemic response is evidence- based and maximizes the health and well-being of all.
Drafted by
Dr. Kevin Bardosh, Collateral Global; Division of Infection Medicine, University of Edinburgh.
Prof. Sunetra Gupta, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford.
Signatories, arranged alphabetically by surname:
Dr. Colin Alexander, Department of Journalism and Media, Nottingham Trent University.
Prof. David Betz, Department of War Studies, King’s College London.
Dr Carlton Brick, School of Education and Social Science, University of the West of Scotland.
Prof. Daniel Briggs, Department of Criminology and Sociology, Northumbria University.
Dr. Jennie Bristow, Department of Sociology, Canterbury Christ Church University.
Prof. Anthony J Brookes, Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester.
Prof. Garrett Wallace Brown, Chair in Global Health Policy, School of Politics and International Relations, University of Leeds.
Prof. David Campbell, Professor of Law, Lancaster University.
Prof. Karl Claxton, Department of Economics, University of York.
Dr. Robert Craig, School of Law, University of Bristol.
Prof. Charles Dennis, School of Business, Middlesex University.
Prof. Kevin Dowd, Durham University Business School.
Prof. Fionn Dunne, Department of Materials, Imperial College London.
Prof. Bill Durodie, Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies, University of Bath.
Dr. Ashley Frawley, Centre for Parenting Culture Studies, University of Kent.
Prof. Paul Frijters, Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics.
Dr. Alberto Giubilini, Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford.
Prof. Toby Green, Department of History, King’s College London.
Dr. Peter Grove, Former Chair UK Department of Health’s Senior Economic & Analytical Review Committee (IASRC).
Mr. Clive Hambler, Department of Biology, University of Oxford.
Prof. Philip Hammond, Department of Media & Communications, London South Bank University.
Dr Cheryl Hudson, History Department, University of Liverpool.
Prof Marilyn James, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham.
Prof. Lee Jones, School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary University of London.
Dr Nicholas Joseph, College of Arts, Humanities and Education, University of Derby.
Prof. David Livermore, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of East Anglia.
Dr. David McGrogan, Department of Law, Northumbria University.
Prof. Paul McKeigue, The Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh.
Prof. David Miles, Department of Economics, Imperial College London.
Dr. Jose Lingna Nafafe, Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, University of Bristol.
Prof. Yossi Nehushtan, School of Law, Keele University.
Prof. George Ogola, Department of Cultural, Media and Visual Studies, University of Nottingham.
Dr Jason L. Oke, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford.
Prof. Paul Ormerod, Alliance Business School, University of Manchester.
Dr. Matthew Owens, Department of Psychology, University of Exeter.
Prof. David Paton, Nottingham University Business School.
Prof. Allyson Pollock, Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University.
Prof. Peter Ramsay, Law School, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Prof. Matthew Ratcliffe, Department of Philosophy, University of York.
Prof. Mario Recker, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter.
Dr. Andrew Shepherd, Chronic Poverty Advisory Network; Institute of Development Studies.
Prof. Karol Sikora, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Buckingham.
Sir Bernard Silverman, FRS, Emeritus Professor, Department of Statistics, University of Oxford.
Dr. Edward Skidelsky, Director, Committee for Academic Freedom; Department of Philosophy, University of Exeter.
Professor Michael Stewart, Department of Anthropology, University College London.
Dr Luke Telford, School of Business and Society, University of York.
Prof. James Tooley, Vice-Chancellor, The University of Buckingham.
Prof. Ellen Townsend, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham.
Prof. John Watkins, School of Medicine, Cardiff University.
Prof. Roger Watson, School of Nursing, University of Hull.
Dr. Stuart Waiton, Division of Sociology, Abertay University.
Dr. Meron Wondemaghen, School of Criminology, Sociology and Policing, University of Hull.
Prof. Simon Wood, School of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh.
Dr. Paul Yowell, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford.
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What a surprise. A long time back, having watched a bit of it, it seemed as if the KC conducting the interview with whoever was being selective, and deliberately shutting down one of the witnesses. Can’t remember who it was, but it definitely gave the impression that he was manipulating the evidence in favour of the usual suspects.
Remember Gove wanting to ventilate worry it was lab made from China and Sunak that no analysis made of costs of lockdown
??????
This reads as if it was written by AI
It’s a little difficult to decode but fairly clear to me what you mean.
Gove was stopped from discussing the Origins of the virus
Sunak mentioned QALY cost-benefit analysis and got shut down with an inaccurate interpretation of the term “we’re not here to discuss quality life assurance”
Thanks; those were the two I had in mind when making my comment above.
When the KC is against you to that degree, I think it is probably better not to engage at all. This letter is good to have on record, but my worry now is something will be done about it, and at this point all that something can be is sop to cover up the criticism. The same fundamental flaw will remain, because it is right there are the root of the thinking, but a big song a dance will be made about how they have addressed the issue. At this stage especially it’s naive to ask for change. Instead IMO they should be asking for it to be binned entirely, and for the process to start from scratch. That won’t happen of course, but then the proper point is made.
“So, Mr Henghan. How does it feel to be called a fuckwit?”
Yup, as biased as the BBC.
It is living up to its mission 100%
The mission was
1) Further cement the idea that “covid” was a deadly pandemic and public health emergency
2) Further cement the idea that “lockdowns” and other “covid” restrictions are a normal response to a mild respiratory “virus”
3) Confirm that we should have had more restrictions not fewer
4) Tories are evil
I agree with items 1-3, but would suggest that item 4, would be better phrased “the establishment and governance are evil. To note as you have, implies that only a section of the blob is evil.
The support the opposition gave the sitting government in both the Covid and Brexit morass, makes them complicit, as well as offering the government a metaphorical shovel with their support with which to dig a deeper hole to fall in. In politics it is prudent to let your opponent make a mistake, and in doing so, the opposition parties in this case were complicit in the covid morass and by extension equally evil by your definition.
Sorry I meant that the “inquiry” is intended to show that the establishment wanted to do the right thing, with the support of HM Opposition, but that the incompetent evil Tory politicians stopped them from doing so by being libertarian jihadists.
its mission was not to establish that ” “the establishment and governance are evil” but to show that Boris Johnston’s Tory government was. And that a Labour government would have done better by locking down sooner, harder and for longer
Yes indeed. That is the conclusion.
Plus door to door stabbinations. No stab, no Life. Off to the gas camps. ‘If it saves one life’….
Or, is its mission to play its part in moving the decision making out of the hands of politicians, whichever party is in power, and place the ‘experts’ in charge of so called pandemics and other healthcare matters? This kind of development in decision making from the elected to the unelected has been going on in every area of public life for 50 years to the point that we now have the uni party state. Lib/Lab/Con – doesn’t matter a jot who forms a government, they all have the same puppet masters, only their party donors and sponsors vary somewhat.
Just so happens that the WHO is desperate to get a pandemic treaty across the line in May.
“virus”
Still awaiting evidence – any – that scary flying viruses (or pace ‘the science’ ‘intracellular parasites’ or whatever b.s. definition du jour) actually exist.
Need to see:
-airborne flying virus on the magic carpet water droplet train
-RNA DNA of said magic virus in said magic droplet train emitted by sneezing, coughing, or touching the fruit at Sainsbury
-Genomic relationship in reality to a human who is sick
-Match the DNA from the flying monster to a causal agent ie the mythical bat, pangolin, rhino, bird, goose, or Chewbaca’s faeces
And lastly, prove that ‘intracellular parasites’ whatever that means, survive outside a host.
Do the above for polio, smallpox, measles, HIV, bird flu, Sars I, Sars II….Disease X (the next scamdemic etc).
The Science ™ should have an avalanche of this proof. Enough to drown an anti-poisoner like myself.
Indeed. Should they be able to prove that viruses exist, or at least show they might, then move on to proving there was a deadly pandemic. They will not be able to do this, because there wasn’t, so the inquiry should then move on to looking into how the scam was perpetrated, who the guilty are, what are suitable punishments and how to stop it happening again.
Yes, there is zero evidence for any virus at all. Which is strange as there are virology departments in many Universities. Now these are obviously linked to the nudge unit, because the entire edifice is falling very fast. It is science with zero evidence of anything, except a few computer programs. Now that rings a bell somewhere, is it the weather, perhaps lack of oxygen in some Universities or severe mental illness? Evidence of anything no longer seems to be required.
“the Covid Inquiry is not living up to its mission to evaluate the mistakes made during the pandemic, whether Covid measures were appropriate and to prepare the country for the next pandemic.”
If anyone still believes that this was their mission I’ve got a couple of bridges I’m flogging if you’re interested.
And a Nigerian Princess interested in marriage.
They keep mentioning a “pandemic” and “mistakes”. Looks more like a deliberate scam to me and a pandemic of lies.
Took your time getting to this tof.
A few of us said this at the very beginning with the doctored video of a dead person from China, and then the wet market nonsense!
If the remit were ever broadened they’d only want to look at the impact of climate change on COVID death rates. This letter will simply be ignored by the ugly Judge Hallett.
Face like a slapped arse.
… but with a brain pre-wired to produce the “correct” findings. Official inquiries are excellent at (a) spreading the blame around, preferably edging it toward the general public rather than anybody in the public sector (b) finding scapegoats (c) shooting whistle-blowers (d) delaying reports until everybody is either dead or the circus has moved out of town. “Never set up an inquiry unless you know in advance what its findings will be.” The one in Surrey which managed to re-attribute obvious cyanide poisoning to a wholly bogus case of carbon monoxide poisoning was a classic, on a small scale. Now magnify that a millionfold and one can see how important it is that the “correct” findings are written into history, and that all blemishes are carefully air-brushed out of the official celebratory picture.
You could add: (e) a lucrative activity for the legal trade involved.
Lady Halibut?
Talking of blame, where is the Grenfell enquiry report, which found blame everywhere? Oh it is lost and all the computer versions have a virus! Irony intended.
A good article and well done to all the medics and academics for sticking their heads above the parapet to question the partiality and relevance of this Inquiry.
They should also compare the cost of the Inquiry with the number of new staff that could have been hired or new clinics, or pay awards so the public have a better idea of what is happening.
“and to prepare the country for the next pandemic.”
If this is an indication of the level of learning in these so called “ex spurts” I would rather they had kept their thoughts to themselves.
Absolutely pathetic.
There was NO pandemic.
Beat me to it, Hux, but going to say the same, because we must.
THERE WAS NO PANDEMIC.
Cheers M A k.
Not only that, looking at the statistics they have a curious correlation with the normal winter flu, ignoring the Morphine/Medazalam deaths of course. Then there were all the empty hospitals and unused Nightingale ICU beds too…. All very curious to my engineering mind.
Much good will it do.
Government enquiries have the sole function of finding the politicians responsible for whatever débâcle – not guilty m’lud, just hapless victims of circumstance, misinformed by their experts and civil servants, and doing the best they could – and Lessons-Have-Been-Learnt™️.
Move along, nothing to see.
Will be interesting to see what reply they get.
i wrote a letter in October 2023 and got a standard reply that everything was completely non-biased and fair.
i escalated the issue and got a letter from one of the barristers that again stated that everything was fair and unbiased…..
Maybe this letter now with signature of eminent people will make a difference….
Are these people in the “club”? Then ignore them, or rather continue to ignore them.