Case for transparency over Sage has never been clearer

Emergency response body could have moved quicker at beginning of pandemic

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As the coronavirus epidemic spilled out of China and seeded outbreaks around the world, the British government looked to its Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) for guidance on how best to handle the crisis.

The members of Sage are not a fixed group of wise academics that wait in their offices for the hotline to ring. The makeup of the group depends on the emergency at hand and is put together at the request of the Cabinet Office. At its best, it gives ministers direct access to the finest minds in the country as it navigates an unfolding emergency.