COVID-19/Lockdown/UK

 COVID-19/Lockdown/UK(COVID-19/Lockdown)

Interest of	COVID Recovery Group, Sunetra Gupta, Paddy Hannam, Independent SAGE, James Rubin, Karol Sikora
Description	The UK police, afforded extensive new powers by the 329 pace "Coronavirus bill" faced wideranging criticism in April 2020 for overstepping them. The first prosecution under the legislation they attempted was ruled unlawful.

The COVID-19 Lockdown in the UK was a sharp reversal of the early March response which "won much support across Britain: keep calm and wash your hands." It was ushered in with a 329 page piece of Coronavirus legislation. The first prosecution attempted under it was ruled unlawful.

Origins

The UK lockdown was decided upon after meetings of the highly secretive Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies‎‎ group. In April 2020, as frustration with the lockdown grew, the secrecy surrounding the group was widely criticised, with only a few members of the group publicly admitting the fact. Chris Whitty stated that he had been told not to reveal the names by the CPNI, for reasons of "national security". On 24 April, over 20 names of the group were published in the UK commercially-controlled media.

Sweeping powers

Derbyshire Police used drones to record a video warning the public to stay away from the Peak District during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

UK police was widely scorned for using drones in what was seen as heavy handed policing which exceeded even the powers give them.

Roads

UK police were criticised after it was discovered that "road checkpoints had been set up to quiz drivers about their journeys."

Supermarkets

UK police have been active in policing supermarkets, making sure that people only buy essential items, a policy the UK Home office explicitly disavowed.

"Cambridgeshire police later blamed an “over-exuberant” though “good-intentioned” officer" for

Northamptonshire Police chief constable Nick Adderley prompted criticism after saying his force was "only a few days away" from "marshalling supermarkets and checking the items in baskets and trolleys to see whether it's a legitimate, necessary item".

Gardens

"South Yorkshire Police has apologised for telling a family they were not allowed on their own front garden during the Covid-19 lockdown."

Timeline

The lockdown was initially for 3 weeks to prevent hospitals from being overloaded. It was repeatedly prolonged^{[When?][By whom?]} although patients responded to the stay away calls, leaving many hospitals largely empty.

15 April - No "exit strategy"

The Guardian reported on 15 April 2020 that the UK government has no exit plan for Covid-19 lockdown. Nadine Dorries statement that “Journalists should stop asking about an ‘exit strategy.’ There is only one way we can ‘exit’ full lockdown and that is when we have a vaccine. Until then, we need to find ways we can adapt society and strike a balance between the health of the nation and our economy” was not well received, and within days, a more nuanced reply had been offered to this question.

 

An example

Page name	Description
Freedom Day	19 July 2021 was supposed to be the end of COVID restrictions in England; instead the introduction of vaccine passports was announced.

 

Related Quotations

Page	Quote	Author	Date
Behavioural Insights Team	“Very powerful psy-ops came into play. The familiar slogan “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” is familiar now to all of us. And that was the creation of the behavioral insights team in Number 10 Downing Street. Remarkable psychology behind that. I think the team were even very surprised by how well we behaved.”	Karol Sikora	23 April 2020
Dominic Raab	“So early relaxation [of the UK COVID-19 lockdown] would do more damage to the economy over a long period... the government has decided the current measures must remain in place for at least the next three weeks... We’ve already sacrificed too much to give up now... so we need to be patient a while longer... now is not the moment to give the coronavirus a second chance.”	Dominic Raab	April 2020
Karol Sikora	“Very powerful psy-ops came into play. The familiar slogan “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” is familiar now to all of us. And that was the creation of the behavioral insights team in Number 10 Downing Street. Remarkable psychology behind that. I think the team were even very surprised by how well we behaved.”	Karol Sikora	23 April 2020

 

Related Documents

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Covid Doctors Network: Open Letter to Premier Daniel Andrews	Open letter		Geoffrey Wells Covid Doctors Network	An Open Letter to Premier Daniel Andrews in the Australian state of Victoria, to point out "not all medical practitioners are in agreement" with a draconian lockdown. Per end of September 2020, the lockdown is still ongoing with no end in sight.
Document:A targeted and evidence-based approach to the COVID-19 policy response (an open letter)	Open letter	21 September 2020	Karol Sikora Sunetra Gupta Carl Heneghan Sam Williams	An open letter to UK PM Boris Johnson from prominent scientists to hinder a new lockdown and change other failed policies
Document:Why is disgraced MI6 author of the dodgy Trump-Russia dossier involved in a controversial group seeking harsh Covid restrictions?	Article	24 July 2021	Kit Klarenberg	Christopher Steele, the Russiagate spook is involved in lobbying for more lockdowns in the UK.

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.