We’re reproducing an article by Lucy Johnston for the Express on the “climate of fear” that is preventing experts from speaking out against the Government’s handling of Covid because it is hard to read on the newspaper’s website. And it’s a must-read.
A climate of fear is preventing experts from questioning the handling of the pandemic, with reputations smeared, jobs lost and even families threatened.
Much abuse has come from within academic or professional circles, with one professor saying debate was becoming impossible because “we are not talking to each other properly. We are being thrown into confrontational positions”. Many leading experts have withdrawn from the debate after having reputations smeared, jobs lost and even families threatened for raising questions about pandemic policy. This month alone has seen one leading medic, working to protect vulnerable children, forced to abandon a project to safeguard youngsters after their name was sullied when they questioned the Government approach.
Another expert has been sidelined from a vital role on a Government advisory group, while senior NHS staff have been threatened with disciplinary measures for questioning the Government approach online or in the media.
Senior academics say they have feared losing vital funding, warned not to speak out with the threat of disciplinary action or deemed “outliers” for their views on lockdown.
At least two scientists have been subjected to public abuse by scientific colleagues who disagreed with their academic view.
One critic posted a grotesque image superimposed on a professor after he disagreed with his view. Other posts by scientists have branded colleagues “charlatans” and “snake oil merchants”.
A prominent professor accused a fellow academic of “deliberately subverting public health” on a Twitter post after disagreeing with her views on managing the pandemic.
In another case a Government scientific advisor called a university boss to try to stop one of its professors from criticising Government policy.
Retired Supreme Court Lord Sumption told a podcast this week that he was a reluctant figurehead for questioning lockdown – but felt obliged because of the way critics had been treated.
He said scientists and politicians had been”subjected to an extraordinarily unpleasant campaign of personal abuse”. He added:
I know a lot of people that would prefer not to put their head above the parapet. From the very moment I started to make these points I began to get emails from politicians who agreed with what I had to say but that they themselves didn’t dare to speak out. That I think is a very serious state of affairs.
He added that he knew of one scientist whose family had also been targeted: “People ought to be entitled to voice their differences of opinion.”
Sir Desmond Swayne, Conservative MP for New Forest West said:
Because of the stance I have taken over my lockdown scepticism I have received a large amount of correspondence from very eminent scientists and clinicians disagreeing with the conclusions that SAGE and the Chief Medical Officer have come to.
What I find very worrying is that with few exceptions they say “please keep my details confidential”.
Clinicians say this to me. ITU doctors say to me they have been warned not to speak out regarding public policy.
There is a caustic public discourse out there, especially in social media.
People who question the current orthodoxy are given rough treatment. Nobody wants to put their name to anything.
Sir Graham Brady, Chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, said:
There has been much to learn about Covid and what responses to it are more effective and which are more damaging than the virus itself.
As we learn more it is essential that doctors and scientists are able to speak freely and to debate these issues without facing a witch hunt from the media, NHS trusts or academic bodies that employ them.
Professor Tim Spector, a leading epidemiologist at London’s King’s College – who was awarded an OBE for his services to the Covid response – said: “There is a climate of fear and I have been personally attacked by other scientists on social media who I subsequently mute. It is not conducive to public debate.”
Robert Dingwall, a Professor of Sociology from Nottingham Trent University said:
The picture of science presented here may surprise many people. Isn’t it supposed to be a social world of civility, rigour and mutual respect, where ideas and people advance on their merits?
However, sociologists who study the scientific community have long pointed out that it is really much like any other human institution. Some parts are, indeed, full of nice, collaborative people working together for the benefit of humanity.
Others, though, are brutally competitive, marked by patronage, nepotism, bullying and personal antagonism. From the outside, you might not know that some of the current tensions around Covid science have their roots in events that happened 20 years ago and the sides that people took at the time. “Following the science” is never neutral. It is always shaped by the connections that decide what counts as “science” and the social networks that join scientists, journalists and politicians to favour some views over others.
This paper has been contacted by dozens of scientists who say they have strong views against the way the pandemic has been handled, but are unwilling to put their names to them because of fear of repercussions.
One academic who has spoken out is Jon Deeks, a Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Birmingham and expert on test evaluation, who has questioned the evidence supporting the use of lateral flow tests.
He said the attacks were damaging to free speech. He said:
I have faced many defamatory things said to me on Twitter and to the media, including by other scientists who have even accused me of manipulating data. It becomes quite nasty.
We are not talking to each other properly and there are many things we do not understand about this pandemic which we need to learn. But we are being thrown into confrontational positions on things, sometimes by the media and sometimes by the Government. This is a bad atmosphere in which we can learn.
Some of this culture is down to ego, but some people honestly believe only their way will solve things and will not listen to other peoples’ views.
There is a range of disciplines including virologists, public health doctors, statisticians and clinicians and we don’t automatically understand each other.
We don’t see the whole picture and it is very harmful in a pandemic if we are in a position where we cannot have a free discussion.
I live on the positive support from the scientific community and I will not engage in this. I did get a bit down but many colleagues, my family and my teenage children have helped me to keep questioning where policy is not following science.
In terms of protecting freedom of speech the university that I work with is incredibly supportive and the Vice Chancellor has said it is his job to enable me to do my job, and they see public questioning of science as my job.
Professor Carl Heneghan, Director of Oxford University’s Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, said:
An envelope of fear has engulfed the debate around Covid. Scientists who suggested an alternative way have been subject to attack, ridicule and threats by others. I have been called an “agent of disinformation” and one scientist even called me a “public health threat” on Twitter. I’m happy to discuss any issue where people believe I got something wrong. But science only operates if it continually opens up questions, uncertainty and debate. There is no such thing as “the science”.
A consultant in the north of England said:
Many of us clinicians want to put more emphasis on the unintended consequences of lockdown that are harming people and these stories need looking at with the same vigour as coronavirus.
But everyone is so terrified of speaking out. I know of one senior NHS manager who was threatened with job loss.
Allyson Pollock, a leading public health professor said funding also played a part because a significant proportion of academic research funds and university revenue is derived from the Government.
She said:
Universities don’t want to upset the Government because they rely on Government funding. If academics criticise Government policies there is often pushback.
Dr Kamran Abbasi Executive of the BMJ said:
Increasingly NHS clinicians are unable to express their concerns about the NHS service provision in case they are deemed to stray into political territory. …
Science is about debate and rarely absolute. Once we start attacking each other it has gone out of the realm of science and become personal. However, debate needs to be encouraged as it is only this way that we can get closer to the truth.
A spokesman for the General Medical Council which regulates registered doctors said:
Good medical practice says that doctors must treat colleagues fairly and with respect. As outlined in our social media guidance, this expectation covers all situations and all forms of interaction and communication. We say doctors must not bully, harass, or make gratuitous, unsubstantiated or comments about individuals online.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
I am very concerned about our planet – it hosts some seriously deluded folk.
Packing them into space ships and shipping them to a planet of their own might be a good idea.
There are so many of them that it would be easier for the rest of us to leave earth
Dear Mr Musk,
I am a big fan and would love to help you set up a Martian colony. I don’t mind how dangerous it is: it’s got to be better than here!
Yours sincerely,
PS GET ME OUT OF HERE, ELON! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!
I’m not so sure about that. The majority of people on this planet live in much more traditionally (shall we call this sensibly?) organized societies and I think these people are actually even a small (but very vocal) minority in western Europe and the USA. IMO, they’re basically just the inhabitants of (parts of) Academistan and of associated territories usually occupied by these (civil service, government, all kinds of more-or-less charitable NGOs).
No, there aren’t. Empty vessels make the most noise.
Packing them into Michael Moore’s underpants is more fitting.
At least the deluded folk are all together on DS.
Including you…..
/sarc? No matter, I’ll take it as a badge of honour
The “Planet” fills the God-shaped hole in their lives.
They include holy children with miraculous visions; haters of heretics (“climate change deniers”); the ones obsessed with angels dancing on the pins, who know all manner of data that feeds their obsession and none of that which challenges it; and those who simply cannot change the topic.
State of the planet?
The state of him!
I’m seriously starting to think that the concept of the film “The Purge” is actually a really good idea.
The Da Vinci cake?
I wonder if the French police can detain this poor creature indefinitely on the grounds of mental illness? Clearly he has gender issues and obviously his mental faculties are seriously disturbed believing as he does that the planet is about to die.
For safety’s sake it’s probably best if he is locked up and the key thrown in The Seine.
That should do it.
You mean declare him InSeine? I’ll get my coat.
It was a darn sight better than the lame Da Vinci joke above though.
I do hope the gendarmerie address her by his correct pronoun.
Whatever point this person wanted to make, he failed to make it in a rational way so the oxygen of publicity should be deliberately withheld.
I would enjoy reporting such as “…the perpetrator, through an excess of entitlement and an inability to form whole sentences, tried to make a political point by being a bloody idiot. We will not be repeating his fevered ramblings here but you may seek them out for yourself if you are bored”
On the contrary, I think this lunatic should be given maximum publicity in order to show the world what climate change derangement can do to a person.
Did you say the same about all the lockdown protests?
They were justified…..
Protests against lockdown were entirely justified, as are all protests against communism.
Dude, put down the keyboard, you’re making an ass of yourself.
Remind me, which lockdown protests involved deliberate attempts to destroy private or public property?
Narcissist Psychopaths have taken over the world ! Where do we go to escape them?
We do indeed need to “Save the Planet” – from Globalists Billionaire jabbers and Zero Carbon Nut Jobs!
I’ve often wondered if a return to old school policing is the answer. Some huge cop having a quiet word while these clowns are at their protests.
Old school policing is still in use at demonstrations if you happen to be protesting about an issue the ruling class do not approve you protesting about.
Where’s Red?
Lurking…..
Good man.
With the quiet words being punctuated with the regular application of a truncheon to the cranium
Are we now relearning why our ancestors had penal colonies? Some people are difficult to live with. So why bother?
Could we not all chip in and buy a sliver of some African state and rename it Utopia then send the annoying to live there?
It wouldn’t be hard to find a lump of Africa with zero modern infrastructure and all the terrible co2 that entails.
And invite everyone to go there so the same people can demonstrate how stable multicultural societies are
Soon we will have penis colonies
Guess who or what is going to be sent to them?
Pregnant people who chestfeed?
What is the answer to “Climate Change”? More taxes, controlling people’s movement, eroding people’s civil liberties, meat and dairy products banned, eating bugs and owning nothing and “being happy”.
Am I denying climate change? No, it’s a natural cyclical issue and it can’t be stopped by megalomaniacs or Communists. Ancient Egypt and even Mesopotamia, even the Arabian peninsula were not always dust bowls, once upon a time those places were strewn with lush green and it’s climate was less hot as it is today.
Many of those places were wrecked because of damaging agricultural practices, they can be revived if managed correctly.
Ancient Egypt and even Mesopotamia, even the Arabian peninsula were not always dust bowls, once upon a time those places were strewn with lush green and it’s climate was less hot as it is today.
Ancient Egypt was a fairly narrow strip of countryside bordering the Nile which was fertile due to the regular Nile floods and a sophisticated irrigation system. Ancient mesopotamia (land between the two rivers) relied on Tigris and Euphrates as water sources for its equally sophisticated irrigation system. The land turned back into a desert when that was finally destroyed by warfare. I don’t know anything about Arabia but the desert of northern Africa, once the the bread basked of to Roman empire, came into being after the Romans had cut down most of the trees and their irrigation systems, too, had been destroyed by foreign invaders. And by the way, by that time (during the Roman period), it was warmer in Europe than it is today,
Today, the climate is hotter than ever! is nothing but climate changer bullshit (and fakery).
It has stopped, for the last 2 decades at least…
Nothing started. 10000 years ago we had the Ice Age. The human race has been around approximately 4000. Who started the Ice Age……Fred Flintstone?
Was it Pinochet who took communists out to sea in a helicopter and then threw them out?
Just think of all that fuel and carbon dioxide! A guillotine is climate-friendly.
At least we can compost them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9kw0A9_oCM
Not personally, I think he had people do it for him
Four words….
Care in the Community
It has a lot to answer for.
Methinks that’s more a case of criminal brain damage. Herostratentum, as this would be called in German (named after the guy who torched the Artemis temple in Ephesus to become famous).
I am glad to read this. I had no idea the planet was in danger from climate change until I saw cake smeared on an Old Master. Now I am aware of it I must do my bit to save the planet – by passing laws not to throw food away, for example.
Very droll!
It’s OK to damage art in museums and galleries if one is offended. Some statues are fair game too.
Your entire heritage is fair game to these people. That’s how intolerance works.
Since the Mona Lisa is obviously in a glass booth, it was never in danger.
Pointless then……
Aw… Bless.
This illustrates the danger of believing official hype based on faulty modelling ‘data’ instead of considering the actual data which tells a completely different story on climate.
It probably illustrates the danger of allowing intellectuals a prominent place in society. Ordinary people would not come to these conclusions on their own.
No.. they will just believe the most convincing voice (in their uninformed view)
Like the Brexiteers believed Boris and Russians believe Putin..
A remainer, a climate nut job, and a Putin hater.
Shall we add Trump to that list?
Any other confessions for us?
I can only assume that the chosen pen name of Lord Snotty is based upon a peculiar and misplaced sense of entitlement consequent to a repalcemenr of brain cells by mucus.
The brexiteers paid no heed to any establishment figure, pro or con. Hence the post-Brexit hysteria. Mass immigration, loss of sovereignty and a political class divorced from ordinary problems in society were the very clearly understood issues that led to the vote.
‘Climate nut job’
Well that really narrows the field down
If he ever faces prosecution for anything the judge will let him off for being perfectly on-narrative. The police will issue an apology for having interrupted his important work and politicians will make speeches applauding his bravery.
And he will receive an enormous sum by way of compensation for having been arrested in the first place.
Reporting these days is really in decline. No details whatsoever, saving the planet just doesn’t seem plausible to me. I want to know how much this cake cost, where did he purchase it, what type of gateau was it, he had taken a bite, was he enjoying it before hurling it and an unspecified number of rose petals at the painting, what was the significance of the rose petals and was this Jackal character part of a group or an independent? Should we be fearful of copycat attempts here in the UK, should all cakes, especially gateau only be sold to people with full I.D and finally, was he vaccinated and if so why wasn’t this mentioned?
Beat me to it, A p; I was just logging in to ask these important questions.
We need to know.
Who was pushing the chair?
No doubt it was James Hanson!
And was the person pushing the chair triple-jabbed?
From a sustainability point of view, just how much of the Black Forest was sacrificed for this stunt?
“In the primitive 20th century, rich elites at what was called ‘Berni Inns’ demolished the entire Black Forest to make one gateau. The Great Reset was entirely necessary to save the plant…”
Ce n’est pas un gâteau.
Leonardo da Vinci created a design for a flying machine, so is fully culpable for the climate catastrophe that is engulfing the world; and the fact that he painted a transwoman (Mona Lisa) is not enough to get him off the hook. As for Mona Lisa, their family was surely involved in the slave trade, so a worthy target for any cake wielding frog.
Him? Did you just misgender this plucky hero?
Da Vinci a “Plucky Hero” – faint praise if ever I heard it!
Mmmmmmm… cake!
French Police just announced it was treating the matter as trifling
Good god, it appears there were three of them
~Groan~
If he’d done that over here, some twat in the Guardian (or the Times) would have called it ‘a performance art piece’, gave him a grant and suggested he be awarded the Turner Prize.
I quite fancy him/she/it
Note to me. Do not stay out in the midday sun when mixing alcohol and medication
Let’s hope he gets his just desserts.
This deserves more upvotes!
The ice-ing is melting!
We’re all doomed!
At least he didn’t blame Putin!! But seriously folks, people like him should be in a mental home. There are far too many crazies allowed to do what they want in the name of climate change or some other government funded agenda they want to impose on us.
Proof, if proof were needed, that environmentalism is nihilistic.
This was an attempt at destruction for the sake of destruction of a popular artwork because it is popular, of a recognised great piece of art because it is recognised as great.
In some lowbrow and fatuous protest, what was achieved and in France a nation by European standards of low fossil fuel use, and even if one believes the premise of man made CO2 blah, blah.
These witless useless idiots cannot bring themselves to bother to make protest in perhaps a country which really does contribute to global emissions of said ‘poison gas’. It therefore follows, by not making any attempt to protest in Peking say. The why should the wider public take the slightest bit of notice – here?
A gateau, not a bun, or a cake but a gateau, did they bring it in.in one of those polystyrene boxes I wonder. I wonder how long they spent selecting said Gateau, and then purchasing it after all in France there are so many gateux to choose from. Obviously one of the middle class echo warriors, who else would gateau a work of art? The fact that the individual concerned has no respect for artworks produced in very different times, painted with such expertise and with non of the tools, technology, paints etc available these days. A great masters work wantonly defaced by an ugly, entitled individual with a gateaux
They should exhibit the glass plate and call it “Moaner Nutter”.
It’ll probably win the Turner Prize!
There’s a better word for left wing violence: terrorism. If climate nutjobs go within spitting distance of an oil depot, lethal force should be used against them, given the potential for disaster if they commit sabotage.
As for the cake-throwing moron, they should do unto him what was done to the lady who is claimed to have said ‘Let them eat cake!’
Mona Lisa is not the world’s best known painting. Surely Gilbert Shelton’s version of Douanier Rousseau’s ‘Sleeping Gypsy’ featuring Fat Freddy and his Cat is the world’s best known painting?
”…. far Left criminal damage is becoming a major problem.”
But it wouldn’t be if only our police forces showed their teeth (if they have any left). These are dimwitted, ignorant, arrogant, strutting and posturing NOWTS. One sniff of the Plod’s truncheon and they’d be off.
Oh! but Plod isn’t supposed to scare them off with his truncheon, is he? They might suffer irreparable psychological damage.
Good grief, these people are pathetic, and they’re being enabled by our law enforcers.