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“At all times we will be led by the science to bring forward the right responses at the right time to this global pandemic.”

Conservative Party Website

16 March 2020

Facts

A statement released on the Conservative party website, entitled: ‘This Government’s response to coronavirus so far’, said: “At all times we will be led by the science to bring forward the right responses at the right time to this global pandemic.”

This statement was disputed later by one of the government’s chief scientific advisors, Patrick Vallance, who said: “I think the correct way of saying it is: the decisions are informed by science, they’re not led by science.

Jeremy Farrar, a member of the SAGE committee on Covid-19, also challenged the Conservative Party claim, writing that “Despite claims by the government that it was “following the science,” it was not.” Farrar added: “Ministers were not following the science, even if they said they were.”

Verdict

The Conservative Party statement was false, and flatly contradicted by well-informed and trustworthy sources including the government’s chief scientific advisor, Patrick Vallance.

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