Sir Chris Whitty ‘backed’ top doctor who breached Covid lockdown rules before resigning in disgrace – as Chief Medical Officer is accused of ‘obscene hypocrisy’
Sir Chris Whitty has been accused of ‘obscene hypocrisy’ after privately backing a doctor who broke Covid rules during the height of the lockdown.
While members of the public were instructed to wash their hands and stay at home, Scotland’s chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood was out on a train visiting her second house.
And it has now emerged that Sir Chris, England’s chief medical officer and the man dishing out the rules, supported her behind closed doors.
Other senior officials such as Sir Jonathan Van Tam also told Dr Calderwood via WhatsApp she was ‘doing a fantastic job’ while Sir Michael McBride, Northern Ireland’s chief medical officer, urged Dr Calderwood to ‘ignore’ the damning reports.
Sir Chris, who is still England’s chief medical officer, had said prior to Calderwood’s resignation he agreed with a message from Sir Frank Atherton, the Welsh chief medical officer, who criticised a story in The Sun that revealed her rule-breaking.
England’s chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty leaves after giving evidence for Module 3 to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry at Dorland House in London
Earlsferry, Fife, is 44 miles away from Edinburgh – a drive of around an hour
Dr Calderwood resigned later that day following a difficult-to-watch press briefing she did with Ms Sturgeon in which the then-Scottish medical chief struggled to defend her own actions.
Doctor Catherine Calderwood’s initial apology in full
Here is the statement issued by Doctor Catherine Calderwood earlier today:
‘I wish to apologise unreservedly for the issue reported in the media today.
‘While there are reasons for what I did, they do not justify it and they were not legitimate reasons to be out of my home.
‘While I and my family followed the guidance on social distancing at all times, I understand that I did not follow the advice I am giving to others, and I am truly sorry for that.
‘I know how important this advice is and I do not want my mistake to distract from that.
‘I have a job to do as chief medical officer to provide advice to ministers on the path of this virus and to support the medical profession as they work night and day to save lives, and having spoken with the First Minister this morning I will continue to focus entirely on that job.’
She apologised live on TV after being given a police warning for twice visiting her family’s coastal retreat in Earlsferry, Fife, more than 40 miles from her main home and added her actions were ‘a mistake and human error’ and that were ‘no excuses’.
Speaking in response to recent revelations, lead solicitor for the Scottish Covid Bereaved group, Aamer Anwar, said the UK’s most senior medical officers had displayed ‘obscene hypocrisy’, the Telegraph reports.
He said: ‘While ordinary mortals faced prosecution, couldn’t attend funerals, or were denied the right to be with loved ones taking their final breaths, time and time again, individuals like Dr Calderwood have been exposed for their shameful arrogance and double standards.
‘Public trust has been so eroded by the actions of some of our officials and politicians that it’s difficult to comprehend ordinary people obeying rules in an inevitable future pandemic.’
Dr Calderwood had been initially backed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to remain in the role.
However after further conversations with Ms Sturgeon, the doctor eventually said she had resigned ‘with a heavy heart’, agreeing the ‘justifiable focus on my behaviour risks becoming a distraction from the hugely important job’.
The Scottish First Minister said it was ‘far from ideal’ to have lost the expertise of Dr Catherine Calderwood.
Ms Sturgeon added she had been ‘trying to make the best judgements’ after initially trying to keep Dr Calderwood in post, before finally conceding she had to go.
MailOnline has contacted Sir Chris Whitty for comment.
