Science, secrets and face masks

Janet Street-Porter is sick of hearing about politicians constantly talking about scientific advice.

“Members of the public have been the guinea pigs for the Prime Minister’s steep learning curve, ever since Covid-19 arrived in our live,” she said. “We know from bitter experience that the catch-phrases trotted out by a member of the government mean very little.

“The latest wheeze is that from Friday next week (why not before?) we must wear face masks when entering a shop or face big fines.”

She said she felt sorry for the highly educated members of the medical profession whose advice the politicians ‘pick through’ and ‘use the bits that suit them and ignore the ones that don’t, depending on how they are doing in the opinion polls.’

“Face masks are just the latest chapter in the confusion that typifies the UK’s slow response to a deadly disease,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s up to adults to make their own lifestyle choices, and government cannot impose endless dictats ordering us to wipe our bottoms, exercise every day and wear a face mask when buying a bottle of wine or toilet rolls.”

She pointed out that it was ludicrous to expect shop staff to police customers and the police themselves have better things to do.

“Cult novel The Dice Man tells of a psychiatrist who makes every decision based on the throw of a dice,” she added. “Written in 1971, it’s sold millions of copies all over the world. I suggest Boris reads it. It could hardly make his weekly strategy changes any more nonsensical.”

The Guardian

George Monbiot said that, undercover of the pandemic, the Government has awarded contracts worth billions of pounds for equipment on which our lives depend, without competition or transparency.

He said the latest case, uncovered by Guardian journalists, involved a contract to test the effectiveness of the government’s coronavirus messaging, worth £840,000.

“There was no advertisement for the work, and no competition,” he said. “No official notice of the award has yet been published. The deal appears to have been done with a handshake and a slap on the back.”

The contract went to a company called Public First, owned by a married couple, James Frayne and Rachel Wolf, he said. “Since 2000, Frayne has worked on political campaigns with Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s chief adviser. When Gove was education secretary, he brought both Cummings and Frayne into his department.

“In response to these latest revelations, the government claims it had to override the usual rules for public procurement because it was responding to an emergency.”

Monbiot said there were plenty of other cases and listed three examples.

“Altogether, billions of pounds’ worth of contracts appear to have been granted, often to surprising companies, without competition,” he said. “I think we may reasonably ask what the hell is going on. Transparent, competitive tendering is a crucial defence against cronyism and corruption. It is essential to integrity in public life and public trust in politics. But the government doesn’t seem to care.”

The Daily Express

Former Conservative minister Ann Widdicombe said science was divided over the effectiveness of masks but Boris Johnson was ‘suffering from that malaise which eventually overtakes even the most resilient politician: the need to be seen to be “doing something”.’

“Consistency and logic have never been hallmarks of this government’s approach to this pandemic,” she said. “People can socialise in pubs but must put on a mask to pick up a pint of milk on the way home.”

“At an early stage in this crisis I advocated on this page that, given nine out of 10 people who were dying had another health condition, there was no need for a universal lockdown but that the healthy should be told to keep the economy and volunteer effort going while the unhealthy and frail should stay at home. I have seen nothing to make me change my mind and do not see muzzles as an answer.”