What many people across Europe have already suspected is now proven by the “Lockdown Files” of the British “Daily Telegraph”: political reasons and tips from communication consultants were more important for numerous Covid decisions than scientific findings. 100,000 chat messages from former Health Secretary Matt Hancock were leaked to the Daily Telegraph. They provide comprehensive insight into internal government communications during the pandemic.
The British government – and probably not only them – therefore often acted for political reasons, based on extremely little scientific evidence. Particularly disturbing: The joy with which politicians and civil servants tormented, punished and frightened the citizens with the help of scientific studies.
Hancock used science to scare the British. This was the only way he could push through some measures. In June 2020, the health minister and his scientific adviser rejoiced: a study “pointing in a positive direction” received much less attention than its “gloomy” counterpart. Hancock exulted, “If we want people to behave, maybe that’s not a bad thing.” Vallace said, “Sure, they soak up the miserable interpretation and deliver more than they have to.”
Another time, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case explains: To get people to follow even more rules, “we need more messaging – the fear/guilt factor is key”. This will be particularly important before Christmas 2020: On December 13, media advisor Damon Poole warned the Minister of Health that strict corona rules would be difficult to enforce. Resistance is already forming among Tory MPs. The influential tabloid Mail on Sunday had “warned” the government.
But Poole had an idea how to scare people more – “with the new variant”. Hancock responded enthusiastically: “We’re going to scare them with the new variant.” And shortly afterwards: “When are we going to use the new variant?” It’s the alpha variant.
Remarkably, all currently available research on this is no older than 19 December 2020. Tichy’s Insight comments: “And that was also the day that the UK’s Christmas 2020 was all but cancelled, apparently due to breakthrough policy insights. Was it a conspiracy between politicians and researchers, with the latter doing some sort of commissioned work here?”
But none of the measures were based on scientific findings. A minister once openly admitted: There is no “robust logic” for limiting social contacts to six people – in order to nevertheless decide on this measure.
This also applies to the mask requirement in schools, which Austrian students also had to endure. After a long back and forth, the scientific advisors in the chats came to the conclusion that there were no reliable arguments for or against wearing the masks in corridors and break rooms. Prime Minister Boris Johnson nevertheless decided to restrict, but for purely political reasons: he wanted to avoid too great a contrast to the harsh corona regime of Scottish Regional President Nicola Sturgeon.
Those who did not comply with the Corona rules sometimes had to expect draconian penalties, which the political decision-makers were clearly happy about. Hancock once called for action to be taken with a “hard hand” to punish lockdown sinners. As a result, a couple returning from Dubai had to pay £20,000 (22,434 euros), which Boris Johnson commented on as “wonderful” (!).
A senior official was delighted with the introduction of quarantine hotels at airports, to which travelers from certain countries were locked. “I want to see the faces of the first-class passengers who get put into a shoebox at a Premier Inn hotel,” Johnson’s secretary, Simon Case, remarked. “How many have we locked up today?”
The government would particularly like to have wiped out the lockdown critic and Brexit champion Nigel Farage. The government wanted to “lock him up” because of his allegedly illegal visit to a pub, of which Farage cheekily tweeted a video. Particularly explosive: Just at this time, government officials in Downing Street celebrated 10 parties, illegally. The “Partygate” was later to actually be fatal to Boris Johnson.