Sage membership was kept secret and the minutes of Sage weren't published. How would we even have known if someone had been fired from Sage for speaking out? And I think that's actually speaks to the importance of having open scientific communication and transparency within Sage early on. If you're asking people to dramatically alter their lives, as we did in March 2020, based on scientific advice, then we should be making that scientific advice available so they can understand it.
Ian Sample speaks to mathematical biologist Kit Yates about what Matt Hancock’s leaked WhatsApp messages reveal about scientific understanding at the heart of government during the pandemic, and what should be done to prepare for the future. Help support our independent journalism at
theguardian.com/sciencepod