PUBLIC health expert Devi Sridhar has thanked ex-Labour minister Malcolm Chisholm for defending her after his former Scotland Office colleague “attacked” her integrity.
Writing in a Scotsman column today, Brian Wilson criticised the professor’s comments about the UK Government’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic and claimed “it all seems a bit strange”.
The former MP, who served under Tony Blair, wrote: “Professor Devi Sridhar, who advises the Scottish Government, recently posted: ‘If you’re wondering why more public health people didn’t speak out publicly in early March … fear of losing grant income is a key factor.’
“Since then, Professor Sridhar has put herself on the safe side, having set the hare running about quarantining people entering Scotland from England. I hope she looked at social media, though not for too long unless she has a strong stomach, to learn about her new fan-base.”
READ MORE: Former Labour minister 'attacks Devi Sridhar's integrity'
Chisholm tweeted to say he was “appalled” by his former colleague’s comments – writing “thousands would attest” that she’d been the voice of reason and had often encouraged the Scottish Government to go further in its fight against the virus.
Sridhar, the chair of global public health at Edinburgh University, thanked the former health minister.
She replied: “I’m trying to find some humour in entire situation. My friends start laughing when I tell them about these attacks.
Thanks Malcolm- I’m trying to find some humour in entire situation. My friends start laughing when I tell them about these attacks.
— Devi Sridhar (@devisridhar) July 4, 2020
“And to re-iterate, I don't get any funding from Scottish govt or any Scottish body. Our team's funding is from Wellcome Trust, NIHR, EU, & DFID. My comment on funding has to do with upsetting senior academic colleagues who sit on review panels with my critical comments in March.”
Earlier this week Sridhar defended herself online when she was branded a “so-called expert” by a Unionist account.
The user told her: “We don’t need so called experts playing politics….why can’t you just give advice and leave the ‘SNP are the light in the darkness’ rubbish to the rest of the cult.”
Sridhar responded to reject the claims. She wrote back: “I currently live and work in Scotland.
“I want Scotland to get rid of the virus, reopen economy and schools and have those shielding feel safe. I contribute my expertise to support this happening.
“I want the same for entire UK. How can anyone living here want Scotland to fail?”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel