By Niall McCrae:
Among the few courageous scientists who have spoken out against the folly of the Covid regime is Professor David Paton at the University of Nottingham. He has frequently presented NHS data to show that the alarm, not least from Downing Street press conferences, is exaggerated and based on dubious rationale.
As the nation faces a bleak prospect of ever-tightening tiers and lockdowns, Paton began the new year by urging a radical change in strategy by the powers-that-be. His Twitter thread is a beacon of light in the doom and gloom of a society overwhelmed by fear.
Everything that the government is doing is wrong, according to Paton.
‘It is hard to overstate what a catastrophic failure the Govt & SAGE’s policy of continual restrictions & lockdown has been. Not only has it caused economic devastation & misery for millions, it has not stopped high rates & surges in infections, hospitalisations & deaths. Over the past 6 months, UK governments have tried mask mandates, curfews, local restrictions, regional restrictions, tiers, short *firebreaks*, national lockdowns, stricter tiers, extra tiers.
All have caused enormous costs yet look where we are at with Covid. Time to rethink.’
As a Brexit-supporting scholar, Paton is accustomed to being a minority voice in the corridors of academe. He is well aware of the tendency of group-think, which maintains a narrative despite counter-evidence. Anticipating reaction to his contrary viewpoint, Paton posted answers to the predictable questions.
“But it’s just obvious that lockdowns will work.”
‘It’s past the time to indulge in wishful thinking about what you think *must* or *should* happen. Like it or not, we have to face reality: the continual lockdown/restriction cycle has failed on every possible measure.’
“But things would have been even worse without the restrictions”
‘Hard to see how but, if you believe that, where is the evidence? e.g. have places with lighter restrictions had demonstrably worse Covid outcomes? Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Florida, Brazil?’
“But it would have been different if we’d locked down more things/earlier/longer …”
‘More collateral damage & misery for certain, but where is the evidence Covid outcomes would be better? Look at Belgium, Italy, Peru, Spain, Czechia, New York, Illinois, France, Argentina.’
“But New Zealand!”
‘Long term (& continued) border closures & extreme lockdown in an isolated island nation before the virus was endemic: whether you agree or disagree with what NZ did, it was just not relevant for the UK situation last March and certainly not now.’
A New Zealand Herald report today admits that the government’s robust interventions to eliminate Covid have come at great cost to health: cancer screening and treatment delayed, eye surgery cancelled causing unnecessary blindness, and deterioration in neonatal care. Literally, lockdown kills.
“But what’s your alternative?”
‘Please think that question through. If the lockdown strategy creates huge costs and doesn’t help with Covid, it needs to be stopped whether or not there is anything else the Government should do.’
Like anyone else who challenges the Covid zealots, Paton will be accused of reckless disregard for the seventy thousand deaths attributed to the coronavirus. But the government is expected to make balanced judgment, to consider the wider impact of advice from specialists, and to objectively evaluate the consequences of imposed restrictions. A royal commission will surely be needed so that lessons may be learned for future pandemics.
‘Eventually we need a proper inquiry into the advice SAGE has given but the urgent thing now is to reverse some of the most damaging measures: school closures, retail, hospitality & sporting shutdowns & the use of criminal law to stop families meeting up.’
A very troubling phenomenon in the Covid regime is the lack of debate in mainstream media. The Free Speech Union pursued legal action against Ofcom for suppressing dissent. The case was rejected on the grounds that the regulator was deterring disinformation about the disease rather than stopping criticism of government policy. But the government is acting on disinformation: mandating ineffectual masks, rolling out a vaccine that does not inoculate, and placing the population under house arrest against the long-established knowledge of epidemiology. The media have failed the people; indeed, from the news reports to the column pages, they are pushing state propaganda.
‘Can I end with a plea to journalists? When ministers, scientists, union & council leaders push for more school closures & even tighter restrictions, at least provide *some* challenge on why we shd believe measures that have failed so disastrously up to now will succeed this time.’
This Twitter thread will age much better than the catastrophising missives of the commentariat, and indeed the supposed expertise of the government’s scientific advisors.
Fear and fallacy are on one side of the coin. On the other side are fact and freedom. Professor Paton’s message should be disseminated widely, so that he is not only preaching to the already converted, but to the millions of citizens who must be wondering when this nightmare will be over. It ends when we, and our political representatives, wake up.
Opinions from the Unity News Network (UNN) editorial team & various contributors. | UNN always clearly distinguishes between news and opinion pieces and as an open minded outlet we publish views from a variety of people and organisation that do not necessarily reflect the views of UNN or its writers. Articles published under UNN Opinions are always opinion pieces and if published on behalf of a contributor will contain that authors name at the start of the piece.
