I'm late to the realization of how influential Tetock is to No10's thinking, and this result that well-briefed dilettantes reliably match subject matter experts in prediction games. The reason we don't follow this through and just have well briefed spads is social norms... 
"When people imagined a policy failure, they attached greater responsibility to officials who failed to consult the right experts".
The word "ritualistically" is later attached to such consultation. It's like asking witch doctors...
The word "ritualistically" is later attached to such consultation. It's like asking witch doctors...
With this mindset, imagine how easy it is to ignore trade experts when discussing Brexit, or favour occasional commenters over economic geographers when it comes to Levelling Up
Given all this, what's remarkable about the UK coronavirus response is perhaps not how distinctive it has been but how quickly they smelled the coffee and went with the expert consensus - given how marinated they were in an ignore-expert ideology in parts of No10.
So perhaps that belief in Tetlock was more skin deep, or they are a more pragmatic bunch than we give credit for
