Vallance Says ‘No One’ in Number 10 Read the Science on 2-Metre Social Distancing Rule

The COVID-19 Inquiry heard evidence from the former chief scientific adviser, who claimed the Cabinet Office was “bipolar” on pandemic decision-making.

Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance leaves the Cabinet Office after a COBRA meeting ahead of the first daily public updates in London, on March 16, 2020. Leon Neal/Getty Images

No one in the Cabinet Office “took the time to understand the science” on two-metre social distancing, according to a diary entry of Britain’s chief scientific advisor at the time which has been submitted as evidence to the ongoing COVID Inquiry.

In a hearing at the inquiry on Tuesday, lead counsel for the inquiry Hugo Keith, KC quoted from the diary of former Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, in which he said one Cabinet Office document had been made up of “cherry-picked” guidance.