Chris Whitty v Tory MP Joy Morrissey: who to believe on Covid?

Should a polymath professor be expected to defer to the politicians on public health guidance?

Conservative MPs have been taking out their frustration on England's chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, for what they see as his promotion of lockdown by stealth". Chief among them is the American-born Joy Morrissey, who said Whitty should defer" to politicians like her.

In a now deleted tweet, Morrissey, who is on the government payroll as a parliament aide, said: Perhaps the covid unelected public health spokesperson should defer to what our ELECTED members of parliament and the prime minister have decided. I know it's difficult to remember but this is not how democracy works. This is not a public health socialist state."