Secret consultation documents finally released after the Morning Star’s two-year freedom of information battle show the Home Office misrepresented public opinion, claiming support for policies that most respondents actually strongly criticised as dangerous and unfair, writes SOLOMON HUGHES

SCIENCE news this year has been dominated by Covid-19. Research has happened at an incredible speed, with scientists working around the clock to make rapid progress.
At the start of the year, we didn’t know that Sars-CoV-2 existed. Just nine months later, humanity has collectively sequenced and analysed its genome in detail, found evidence for a range of effective treatments and started the development of hundreds of candidate vaccines.
Other areas of science might seem sluggish by comparison. Indeed, science normally feels like it progresses at a snail’s pace. However, there is always more than meets the eye to nature. Snails are no exception.

A maverick’s self-inflicted snake bites could unlock breakthrough treatments – but they also reveal deeper tensions between noble scientific curiosity and cold corporate callousness, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
Science has always been mixed up with money and power, but as a decorative facade for megayachts, it risks leaving reality behind altogether, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT

