Skip to main content
NEU Senior Regional Support Officer
Sage advice?
With Britain set to have Europe’s worst coronavirus death rate, Boris Johnson is defensively claiming that his government "followed the science.” But did they? SOLOMON HUGHES investigates
PM Alexander 'Boris' de Pfeffel Johnson claps for the NHS

THANKS to pressure from Labour, the government has slowly released documents from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), the government’s main source of scientific advice.

These show that government claims to “follow the science” are not really true.

The papers do not tell a simple story of government ignoring good advice — they also show that there were flaws in that advice. But they do show the government lagging behind, misrepresenting or ignoring some of the advice.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
UNRECOGNISED POTENTIA:L: Girl students conduct an experiment by throwing cotton balls to demonstrate the instinctive reaction of flinching at The Big Bang Fair 2025, for young scientists and engineers, at the NEC in Birmingham on June 18 2025
Science and Society / 16 July 2025
16 July 2025

What’s behind the stubborn gender gap in Stem disciplines ask ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT in their column Science and Society

POISON: Centivax workers study antivenom to counteract the bites of various snakes at the company lab in San Francisco
Science and Society / 7 May 2025
7 May 2025

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

A person placing a swab from a Covid 19 lateral flow test in
Features / 15 March 2025
15 March 2025
The NHS continues to say Covid spreads primarily through ‘droplet and touch’ while the WHO emphasises airborne transmission, meaning vulnerable patients and healthcare workers face unnecessary risks, reports RUTH HUNT