BORIS Johnson has failed to publish the scientific reasoning behind his move to end self-isolation because he doesn’t have any, it has been claimed.
The news comes after Johnson failed to name a single public health expert who backed his plan to scrap all of England’s Covid rules, including free testing for the general public.
The Prime Minister had been asked in the Commons by SNP MP Dr Philippa Whitford if he could “explain which public health experts advised abandoning testing and isolation, and when will that advice be published?”
READ MORE: 'Interrupting' BBC host blasted by Covid expert after radio interview
Professor Devi Sridhar, the chair of global public health at Edinburgh University, tweeted about the exchange.
Sharing a video of Whitford’s question, Sridhar wrote: “‘Which public health expert advised abandoning testing and isolation?’
“Response: politicians decided.”
“Which public health expert advised abandoning testing and isolation?’
— Prof. Devi Sridhar 🌈 (@devisridhar) February 21, 2022
Response: politicians decided. pic.twitter.com/5aRtJjqjLE
She added on Tuesday morning: "Just remember UK govt Covid decisions are now driven by catching headlines & not in the interests of the health & well-being of the population. We can both recognise need to open up economy & society using vaccines/testing and seriousness of COVID as a disease."
Johnson said that ministers took the final decision, but also that the Government had consulted “a wide range of scientific opinion”.
Whitford told The National: “Quite a few [public health experts are] saying: ‘Who on earth is advising this?’.
“In answer to me he said ‘we spoke to Sage and the CSO [chief scientific officer] and the CMO [chief medical officer] but the ministers made the decision’. That implies to me that they may have asked them, but they may not have liked the answer.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson 'undermining' the Scottish Government with 'authority' jibe
“His response to me suggests that he doesn’t have public health advice to publish, which is why he’s not publishing it.”
The SNP MP further said the Prime Minister was “like a child hiding behind their hands”.
“That’s how to summarise it, a child hiding behind their hands and thinking they can’t be seen, and if they just ignore Covid, hopefully it will go away,” she said.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference after Johnson’s announcement in the Commons, England’s CMO Professor Chris Whitty said that people should continue to self-isolate if they test positive, even if the law doesn’t require them to.
However, free Covid testing will be scrapped for the general English public on April 1.
Whitford criticised the move, saying: “People don’t pay for other NHS tests, so why is this being treated differently? This will widen health inequalities.
“Whatever the cost is, there will be people in communities that don’t have that money. It’s quite bizarre to introduce that it’s specifically this test that you have to pay for.”
The British Medical Association also strongly condemned the UK Government's move as "premature".
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair said: “Living with Covid-19 must not mean ignoring the virus altogether – which in many respects the Government’s plan in England seems to do.
“Far from giving people more freedom, today’s announcement is likely to cause more uncertainty and anxiety.
“Crucially, it will create a two-tier system, where those who can afford to pay for testing – and indeed to self-isolate – will do so, while others will be forced to gamble on the health of themselves and others.
The Scottish Government will announce its own Covid plans on Tuesday.
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