Communication with ministers was poor, scientist tells UK Covid inquiry

Prof Neil Ferguson says advisory committee did not know what was being planned or thought about by government

Poor communication between ministers and scientists was such a barrier at the start of the Covid pandemic that academics privately asked officials if they realised the scale of what was coming, Prof Neil Ferguson has said.

The Imperial College London epidemiologist, whose early modelling of the probable infection and death rate if counter-measures were not taken played a key role in the decision to impose a lockdown, told the official Covid inquiry he and other scientific advisers had no idea what the government wanted to achieve.