Ex-Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption blasts ‘collective hysteria’ over coronavirus in astonishing rant attacking decision to put the public into ‘house imprisonment’
- Lord Sumption, who was a judge from 2012 – 2018 gave an interview to the BBC
- He said politicians had not though about ‘whether the cost will be worth paying’
- Came after Boris Johnson ordered people to stay at home as much as possible
- The Government also forced businesses to close and spent billions in job aid
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
A former Supreme Court judge launched and astonishing tirade against ‘collective hysteria’ over coronavirus today, suggesting extreme measures put in place to slow its spread were excessive.
Lord Sumption, who sat for six years on the UK’s top judicial body, accused the public of forcing politicians to take action without thinking about ‘whether the cost will be worth paying’.
As the death toll from coronavirus in the UK reached 1,415 the retired lawyer, 71, said the UK was showing ‘classic symptoms of collective hysteria’.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World at One, he said: ‘Hysteria is infectious. We are working ourselves up into a lather in which we exaggerate the threat and stop asking ourselves whether the cure may be worse than the disease.’
Lord Sumption, who sat for six years on the UK’s top judicial body, accused the public of forcing politicians to take action without thinking about ‘whether the cost will be worth paying’
Professor Neil Ferguson said he had detected ‘early signs’ that the spread was being curbed by lockdown, with the rate of increase in hospital admissions easing
Leading epidemiologist Prof Ferguson warned deaths are still likely to rise sharply as they lag two or three weeks behind the new infections
He spoke after one of Number 10’s leading experts had said the UK’s coronavirus outbreak looks to be slowing down because of the Government’s unprecedented decision to put Britain in lockdown.
Professor Neil Ferguson claims to have detected ‘early signs’ that the spread of the life-threatening infection was being curbed by the draconian measure, with the rate of increase in hospital admissions easing.
Professor Ferguson – one of the authors of a bleak Imperial College London report that convinced Downing Street to ramp up its efforts to stop the crisis after warning that 250,000 Brits could die under a controversial plan to build-up ‘herd immunity’ – warned deaths are still likely to rise sharply as they lag two or three weeks behind the new infections.
But Lord Sumption insisted today that draconian measures like telling people to stay at home as much as possible, closing shops other businesses, and spending hundreds of billions of pounds to prop up the economy, were over the top.
He stood by his views despite all of the evidence and advice shared by medical experts across the UK.
He added: ‘Yes, this is serious, and, yes, it’s understandable that people cry out to the Government, but the real question is, is this serious enough to warrant putting most of our population into house imprisonment, wrecking our economy for an indefinite period, destroying businesses that honest and hard-working people have taken years to build up, saddling future generations with debt?
‘Depressions, stress, heart attacks, suicides and unbelievable stress inflicted on millions of people who are not especially vulnerable and will suffer only mild symptoms or none at all like the Health Secretary and the Prime Minister.’