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16 Mar, 9 tweets, 9 min read
1/. #AYearAgoToday SAGE formally advised lockdown

The govt claimed “the science had changed”

On 13 March, in a meeting attended by 18 govt representatives, SAGE first recommended lockdown

On 14 March, the PM & @carriesymonds hosted a baby shower

On 24 March, UK locked down👇
2/. #AYearAgoToday, @grantshapps said the #coronavirus response of other countries - i.e. lockdown - was "populist" & unscientific

Meanwhile, after the govt promoting #Herd_Immunity,
@MattHancock claimed "We have a plan...Herd Immunity isn't part of it"
3/. #AYearAgoToday, the media reported that the govt had abandoned #HerdImmunity because "the science has changed”

"Pivoted away" was the favoured phrase

But it wasn't true

The science had stayed the same

And the #HerdImmunityScandal was far from over.
4/. Lockdown on 24 March came 11 days after SAGE's recommendation a MONTH after the govt’s modeller @neil_ferguson, first presented his findings

SAGE minutes show the govt KNEW on 25 Feb - 3 weeks before they claim - that NHS ICU beds would be overwhelmed
5/. Ystdy, the PM admitted Britain should have locked down earlier

But their decision not to lockdown was not "an error"

They KNEW #HerdImmunity is an outcome NEVER a strategy

They concocted "behavioural/lockdown fatigue" to justify
a delayed lockdown.
6/. We will hear of “mistakes were made: lessons will be learned” noises from the govt in the coming months

But - as this THREAD👇shows - their actions & inactions were part of a far bigger & more sinister plan

This isn't wild conjecture. It's journalism
7/. When the #TakeItOneTheChin video when viral, we were called "fake news merchants"

When demands for lockdown grew louder, we were called "fear mongers"

A year ago @Telegraph warned "Anyone questioning the govt's #COVID strategy is a danger to us all"
8/. #AYearAgoToday

“In moments of crisis, real leaders stand up & make tough decisions.
Two weeks ago @BorisJohnson was jovially bragging talking about shaking hands with people with #coronavirus. Five days later he was talking about #herdimmunity”
@GNev2
9/. #AYearAgoToday

“I cannot believe the govt is still leaving it to the public to decide if they should avoid pubs, bars, restaurants etc - when most other countries are ordering lockdowns” (@piersmorgan)

Britain & Belarus were the only countries in Europe not to shut schools

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More from @StefSimanowitz

Stefan Simanowitz Profile picture
18 Mar
1/. The PM claims that the govt “stuck to the science like glue”

But this is not true

At crucial times they ignored the science or concocted pseudo-scientific justifications for their actions & inaction

This thread, & the embedded threads, set them out
2/. “BEHAVIOURAL FATIGUE”

A key justification for delaying lockdown was that “if we do it too early people will get bored”

The paper-thin reasoning of this claim was apparent at the time

But it was repeated by the PM, Ministers, @uksciencechief & Whitty
3/. The concept of "lockdown fatigue" had no basis in behavioural science

On 14 March, 700 behavioural scientists published an open letter stating this

So where had the idea come from?

How had it been allowed to shape govt policy at this crucial time?
Read 7 tweets
Stefan Simanowitz Profile picture
16 Mar
On @BBCNewsnight, @maitlis asked @JamesCleverly if it is British govt policy to seek trade deals with countries that violate intn’l standards on human rights, as a leaked tape with @DominicRaab seen by @HuffPost reveals.

We’ll take that as a “Yes”, James!
In the recording, @DominicRaab says: “I squarely believe we ought to be trading liberally around the world. IF we restrict it to countries with ECHR-level standards of human rights, we’re not going to do many trade deals with growth markets of the future.’
So are these the “growth markets” for #GlobalBritain?

This apparent willingness to sacrifice human rights at the altar of trade fits a depressing pattern

Any trade that arises from or contributes to human rights violations can never be truly sustainable. amnesty.org.uk/press-releases…
Read 4 tweets
Stefan Simanowitz Profile picture
13 Mar
A year ago on 13/3/20, @Telegraph ran this headline:

"Anyone questioning the govt's #COVID strategy is not only wrong, they're a danger to us all"

The heat was being turned up on those journalists trying to do their jobs

But was @maitlis’ Cummings monologue the turning point? Image
“He made those who struggled to keep to the rules feel like fools & has allowed many more to assume they can now flout them. The PM knows all this but chosen to ignore it.” @maitlis
on Cummings

The PM was also choosing to ignore ‘the science”. #COVID19
Everything that @maitlis said in this monologue Is accurate

The next day, the BBC issued an apology

"It says a lot about the political culture in the UK that the only person who has faced any consequences for Cummings' action is a journalist who pointed them out." @AdamBienkov Image
Read 5 tweets
Stefan Simanowitz Profile picture
12 Mar
1/. On 5 March 2020, the PM was asked why Britain hadn't locked down

He replied saying "one the theories is that we could #TakeItOnTheChin"

A year ago today - briefed by No.10 - @Peston revealed the govt strategy was to “allow the virus to pass through the entire population”. ImageImage
2/. It was clear that @Peston & his “senior No.10 source” had not understood #HerdImmunity which - as every virologist will tell you - is an OUTCOME never a STRATEGY

Allowing #COVID19 to spread
without a vaccine would be madness & result in mass deaths.
3/. Rather than correct @Peston & his “senior No.10 source” @uksciencechief came out publicly to defend “the strategy”

#HerdImmunity without a vaccine is, by definition, not a preventative measure

What was going on?!!

The was no lockdown & the #CheltenhamFestival was starting! Image
Read 24 tweets
Stefan Simanowitz Profile picture
11 Mar
1/. “Not so long ago, Britain was the envy of the world

It had the world’s best healthcare system...the world’s finest public broadcaster...growing wealth & happiness...& was part of the world’s most successful political union

Now it is a failing state.”
eand.co/how-britain-be…
2/. Britain became afflicted by a fever dream of nationalism: the biggest lie of all

Nationalism says: “we’re better off on our own. We’re better than them. We should be competitors with everyone. Our only motivations are greed & self-interest”

But none of that is true
@umairhb
3/. British people might not know it, but they’re going to be getting American-style healthcare bills soon

GP practices have been sold off to an US “health insurer” who aren’t in it for human kindness, but for money

We will be billed - $4,000 for a X-ray
Read 10 tweets
Stefan Simanowitz Profile picture
10 Mar
1/. Just over a year ago, in a pre-lockdown world, I travelled to #Turkey with a high level @amnesty delegation to observe the judgement in the case of #OsmanKavala, a philanthropist who, at that time, had been unjustly behind bars for more than two years.
2/. The hearing of OsmanKavala & 15 other Turkish civil society figures - all facing the same absurd charges - was taking place in a court in Silivri high security prison, Europe's largest jail

The dock had space for 250 defendants

This was a courtroom designed for mass trials
3/. We watched proceedings from the back of the gargantuan courtroom

"So much space in this courtroom yet so little room for justice," I thought

But suddenly, the judge stood & declared #OsmanKavala & all co-defendants in this Gezi trial, were acquitted.
Read 9 tweets

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