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27 Jan, 9 tweets, 3 min read
EXCL with @AgnesChambre ...

Senior Tory Desmond Swayne said covid figures were being "manipulated" & told a leading antivaxxer in an online interview that face masks represented "social control" & there were "hidden agendas" at work behind the scenes.

news.sky.com/story/covid-19…
In November, Sir Desmond Swayne spoke to Save Our Rights UK - a group that advanced false claims about covid vaccines & organises anti-lockdown protests.

Two wks ago he spoke to Del Bigtree - the CEO of an antivax group who produced a film about disgraced medic Andrew Wakefield.
Sir Desmond Swayne told Sky News he did not realise the two interviewers held antivax views.

"I'm entitled to answer legitimate questions that people put to me," he said.

"It does not in any way mean that I accept points of view that they hold."
NEW - Tory Chief Whip is speaking to Desmond Swayne & he will attend a meeting with scientific advisers.

Tory whips spokesperson says ...

“We completely condemn these comments.

“It is on all of us to work together to control the virus to protect the NHS and save lives”.
NEW - Labour Deputy Leader writes to Tory Chairman about Sir Desmond’s comments 👇🏻
Sir Desmond Swayne says he is a “most enthusiastic vaccinator” 👇🏻
Here’s what happened when we phoned Sir Desmond Swayne and asked why he had spoken to people with anti-vaccine views 👇🏻

(We asked his permission to record this call.)
Blimey
I’ve never had this amount of abuse on here before and I’ve spent the last five years covering Brexit.

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More from @robpowellnews

Rob Powell Profile picture
10 Jan
Prof Adam Finn from the Joint Committee on Vaccination says there are already thousands of people who have avoided needing to go to hospital with covid because they have had the jab #ridge
Prof Finn on the 12 week wait for vaccinations says if your house is on fire and you have two fire extinguishers, you use them both and then rely on there being another one ready for the next fire. Says these are "not normal times" #ridge
Prof Finn says it "may well be" that more variants are circulating globally, but we just don't know about them. The Kent and SA variants were identified because the UK & SA have good genomic modelling #ridge
Read 4 tweets
Rob Powell Profile picture
10 Jan
Health Sec Matt Hancock says the data shows more people are following the rules than in the November lockdown. He doesn't say that compliance is as high as last spring though saying that's "harder to measure".

Govt scientists believe compliance now is lower than in March #ridge
Matt Hancock says the "rules are not there as boundaries to be pushed, they are the limit" and that "every flexibility can be fatal". He says he supports the police in doing their job and they are "right to take the rules very seriously" #ridge
Health Sec Matt Hancock says one third of over 80s have now been vaccinated & the country is "on course" to hit the target of 2m jabbed per week. Currently running at 200,000 people a day #ridge
Read 7 tweets
Rob Powell Profile picture
9 Jan
Cracking piece by @rowlsmanthorpe on compliance...

"Everyone has their own version of the restrictions. We take them and give them a tweak".

news.sky.com/story/covid-19…
This presents a dilemma for enforcement. Many would say fines should focus on serious & flagrant breaches. But what happens when those are few & the real risk of spread is posed by people bending the rules & finding loopholes? Do you come down hard on them too (as in Derbyshire)?
Personally, it feels like not enough has been done to foster an understanding of risk rather than just an awareness of rules. There's an attitude this time round that providing you find an exemption/loophole (support bubble, childcare bubble), then you get rid of the risk.
Read 5 tweets
Rob Powell Profile picture
8 Jan
Negative covid test needed to enter England & Scotland soon... lots of unanswered questions...

- What types of test allowed?
- What countries exempt?
- Why not Wales/NI?
- What day does it start?
- How long will it last?
- How many "spot checks" will be done?
Not to mention political questions...

- Why did ministers previously claim testing passengers would be ineffective?
- Other countries have been doing this for months, have we missed the boat?
- Why not test/temp check at airports UK-side?
- Too reliant on carriers to police?
Also confused as to the "travel industry has been pushing for this" line. This is IN ADDITION to the travel corridor & quarantine arrangements. So it is another hoop travellers will have to jump through if they want to go abroad. So not really much of a boost for the industry.
Read 8 tweets
Rob Powell Profile picture
7 Jan
Health Sec Matt Hancock says the supply of vaccines is the "rate limiting step" but govt is working with AstraZeneca & Pfizer to increase supply. He adds that the manufacturers are currently delivering "to the schedule that's agreed".
NEW - The London surgery Matt Hancock visited this morning has had its first package of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine delayed. GP Ammara Hughes says it is "frustrating" & that they have capacity to inoculate many more patients but vaccine deliveries are "ad hoc".
The Central London surgery was expecting their first batch of the Oxford AZ vaccine this morning. It has now been pushed back by 24 hours. GP Ammara Hughes says sporadic deliveries of the Pfizer jab mean they haven't been able to book people in for their second doses.
Read 6 tweets
Rob Powell Profile picture
31 Jul 20
NEW - Another major care provider says it has had no access to regular #covid19 testing in its homes because of an issue with a supplier used by the govt. This follows revelations by Sky News yesterday that the firm Care UK was facing a five week wait for routine tests.
MORE - Now, the country’s largest charitable care provider MHA says it has been without routine testing for staff & residents for over two weeks because of safety issues with Randox tests. MHA has 222 care homes and schemes supporting 18,500 residents & members.
MORE - Chief Executive Sam Monaghan said: “we are now heading into our third week of no testing for the majority of our care homes following the Randox debacle and we understand it will be weeks before it is rectified".
Read 5 tweets

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