Secrecy has harmed UK government's response to Covid-19 crisis, says top scientist

Exclusive: Sir Paul Nurse says lack of openness fuelled poor decisions and put public trust at risk

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One of the country's most senior scientists has criticised government for the shroud of secrecy" drawn over major decisions in the coronavirus crisis and urged ministers to be more open about the reasons behind their policies.

Sir Paul Nurse, the nobel laureate and director of the Francis Crick Institute in London, said important decisions throughout the pandemic had been made in what appeared to be a black box" of scientists, civil servants and politicians, and called for more transparency and scrutiny.