Latest news with #PatrickVallance
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Johnson favoured ‘authoritarian approach' to pandemic punishments, inquiry told
Former prime minister Boris Johnson favoured an 'authoritarian approach' to punishing people who failed to isolate during the pandemic, the Covid-19 Inquiry has heard. Policymakers also preferred punishment over incentive, despite scientists arguing that 'support and engagement' were 'very important to get adherence up'. Diary entries written by the then chief scientific adviser Lord Patrick Vallance revealed that those making decisions 'always want to go for stick, not carrot'. On Thursday, Lord Vallance, now science minister, gave evidence to the seventh module of the inquiry which is examining the approach to testing, tracing and isolating. A series of extracts were shown from his so-called evening notes, which Lord Vallance described as 'spontaneous ways to sort of decompress at the end of the day'. The inquiry heard that members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) 'suggested more carrot and incentives required to make people take a test, self-isolate, etc, but they always want to go for stick, not carrot'. Asked by inquiry counsel Sophie Cartwright who 'they' referred to, Lord Vallance replied: 'I think in this case, it would have been the decision makers for policy.' One entry from September 25 2020 shows Mr Johnson suggesting 'more punishment' for those not following rules. It said: 'PM: punish people who won't self-isolate. Punish people who aren't doing the right thing. 'Close some pubs and bars. We need a lot more punishment and a lot more closing down.' Lord Vallance wrote: 'I put a message in chat that support and engagement very important to get adherence up. PM ends with: 'massive fines, massive fines'.' An entry from January 7 2021 gave details of a meeting on testing which included Mr Johnson. It said: 'Testing performance looks much better. Now the challenge is self isolation.' It added that Dido Harding, who ran the test and trace programme in England at the time, called for better schemes to help people isolate. Lord Vallance wrote: 'PM says: 'We haven't been ruthless enough. We need to force more isolation. I favour a more authoritarian approach'. 'Rather late in the day, the PM is understanding that incentives (or removal of disincentives) need to be in place to help people. 'Those instincts are punishment, not help. Sounds like a good testing system is gradually coming together and will be ready when lockdown released.' Former health secretary Matt Hancock raised concerns that the country's ability to scale up testing and tracing has been 'dismantled' and will be hard to achieve again in a future pandemic. He wrote in his witness statement that 'the key lesson for the future is that a rapidly scalable testing and tracing infrastructure should be maintained ready for urgent expansion'. Reading the statement aloud, Ms Cartwright said: 'You say this: 'I'm concerned at present, our current capacity has been dismantled, and we'll find it much harder to scale again in the future as a result'.' Mr Hancock said it would be 'hard to make the case' for large and permanent factory-scale testing in preparation for the next pandemic. 'That would be, in a perfect world, what you'd have, in the same way that you have a standing army,' he added. 'There is a case for it, but there's also a case against because it's expensive. 'What, in my view, there is absolutely no case against is having a plan and a system ready to go to build those factories; to take the units, to bring in the PCR testing machines, or whatever the latest technology is, and to be ready to go.' Mr Hancock was asked about ex-MP Owen Paterson's involvement with a company awarded a contract to supply millions of Covid tests. Mr Paterson quit as an MP in 2021 after he was found to have breached rules on paid advocacy when he lobbied ministers on behalf of Randox. Ms Cartwright asked: 'Do you accept, Mr Hancock, that, at the very least, to maintain public confidence, a contract of that scale should have been handled with maximum transparency as part of the creation of the test, trace, isolate system?' He replied: 'In a utopia? Yes, but we weren't living in a utopia. People were dying every day, and Randox had the capacity to radically increase the number of tests available, along with the other testing companies.' Mr Hancock praised the company which 'did an amazing job during this period'. Mentioning Mr Paterson, Ms Cartwright went on: 'There were plainly ministerial meetings that were not recorded, that have also been commented about. Were you at the time aware that those meetings had not been properly recorded?' 'No, not that I can recall,' he replied. Former health minister Lord James Bethell was asked if there was 'sufficient consideration given to working with universities as laboratories'. He said 'a huge amount of effort went into not just universities, but hospital pathology labs, animal pathology labs, all manner of private, public and university testing laboratories', and that he was 'lobbied on an hourly basis by just about everyone who had a PCR machine'. He told the inquiry he 'spent a huge amount of effort to try to figure out a way of creating an Uber for diagnostics' but 'it was a total disaster'. 'It just didn't work. They were regularly late. They regularly lost tests. The turnaround times weren't quick enough. The data got in a mess. It was very, very expensive. 'And I would have loved for that effort to have worked.'
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Nikkei Asia
24-04-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Japan seeks leg up on quantum tech standards with UK partnership
TOKYO -- Japan will cooperate with the U.K. to create international standards for quantum technology, aiming to help their companies seek opportunities in a field where China and the U.S. are spending heavily in a bid for leadership. Minoru Kiuchi, Japan's state minister for science and technology policy, will meet with British counterpart Patrick Vallance in the U.K. on Monday to sign the countries' first memorandum of understanding on quantum technology, which has economic and national security implications.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SoftBank Bets $200M On CMR Surgical, The UK Startup Taking On $178B Intuitive With Robots That Have Performed 30,000 Surgeries
In the world of medical tech-dominated by giants, one UK-based startup is going for the jugular. CMR Surgical just got itself more than $200 million in new capital to pump the pedal down on a global rollout of its surgical robotics system and, even more daring, to make a serious dent in the U.S. market, where $180 billion kingpin Intuitive Surgical reigns. With heavyweight backers like SoftBank, LightRock, Ally-Bridge, and a $68 million chunk of debt funding from Trinity Capital, the round signals deep-pocketed belief in CMR Surgical's trajectory. According to Sifted, this new cash pile brings the company's total raised to north of $1 billion, putting it squarely in unicorn territory, with a $3 billion valuation to match. Don't Miss: Deloitte's fastest-growing software company partners with Amazon, Walmart & Target – CMR Surgical is not exactly playing small ball. It's the best-capitalized surgical robots startup on earth, according to Dealroom. Since beginning its operations in 2014, it has raised more than most startups dream of raising. Its last large haul was a $600 million Series D round in 2021, which increased the startup's valuation tremendously. In 2023, the company also secured a $170 million convertible loan note. Patrick Vallance, UK science minister, said in a statement released by the company, 'This successful funding round of more than $200 million is a clear vote of confidence in the company, the potential of surgical robotics, and in the UK's life science ecosystem, which continues to produce innovative companies at an impressive rate.' Trending: Hasbro, MGM, and Skechers trust this AI marketing firm — . The centerpiece of CMR Surgical's aspiration is Versius, a robotic surgery platform for trials in colorectal, gynecology, thoracic, urology, and general soft tissue procedures. It has already begun making an impact where used, with over 30,000 procedures carried on around the world. Versius helps with instruments like endoscopes, forceps, and scissors, but it also records and feeds back surgical data to staff in real time, converting the operating room into something resembling a high-precision data level of integration is a big part of why the robot is now the world's second most-adopted soft tissue surgical robot, second only to Intuitive Surgical's long-established Surgical knows that it faces a turning point. 'We are now at a pivotal stage, poised to capitalize on significant opportunities for market expansion, including in the U.S. while continuing to penetrate deeper into existing markets,' CEO Massimiliano Colella said. Now that the company has a new war chest, it is preparing for a real push. Although it's topping the funding charts in Europe, it's not alone in the wider race to use robotic surgery. DistalMotion, based in Switzerland raised $150 million in 2023. The same year, Moon Surgical from France raised $55 million, and in 2024, Italy's Medical Microinstruments picked up $110 million. CMR Surgical's entry into the U.S. indicates an intent to disrupt the status quo. The competition in surgical robotics is entering a new, more decisive phase, with $200 million in new funding to enable its next stage of growth. Read Next:'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article SoftBank Bets $200M On CMR Surgical, The UK Startup Taking On $178B Intuitive With Robots That Have Performed 30,000 Surgeries originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
Sky News
23-03-2025
- Health
- Sky News
Five years since COVID-19 lockdown: The images we can't forget
Daily briefings were held in Downing Street . Professor Chris Whitty, the UK's chief medical adviser, and Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, became household names. Three weeks after announcing a nationwide lockdown, Boris Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to intensive care for three days. As the country was living under restrictions and fines were being issued for breaching them, gatherings and events were being held in Downing Street, which prominent figures faced scrutiny over in a scandal which became known as Partygate. Dominic Cummings, then chief adviser to the prime minister, came under fire for travelling from London to Barnard Castle in Durham in May 2020 - a trip which went against lockdown rules, which he said was to test whether his eyesight was good enough to drive.
Gulf Insider
17-03-2025
- Health
- Gulf Insider
"Beyond Reasonable Doubt": Former MI6 Head Told Boris Johnson COVID-19 "Was Engineered In The WIV"
Last week we noted reporting by journalist Alex Berensen, who cited two large German newspapers in revealing that Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) has long had evidence that the Covid-19 virus originally came from a US-funded lab in Wuhan, China. According to these reports, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe in 2020, the German government commissioned a secret intelligence operation under the codename of Saaremaa to investigate the origins of the Covid-19 virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2. When they concluded that a lab leak was most likely, the German Chancellery ordered that the results were to be kept hidden from the public. Now, the Daily Mail reports that 'a former spy chief submitted a secret dossier to No 10 early in the pandemic reporting that the virus had originated with a leak from a Wuhan facility.' Except that Patrick Vallance, the UK's equivalent of Anthony Fauci, quashed it. A classified dossier compiled by Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, was passed to then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the start of the outbreak in March 2020 which stated: 'It is now beyond reasonable doubt that Covid-19 was engineered in the Wuhan Institute of Virology'. The file, marked 'Secret – Recipient's Eyes Only' argued that Beijing was pushing a fake narrative that the virus had originated in an animal market. The dossier, compiled by a group of eminent academics and intelligence experts and seen by The Mail on Sunday, said China even retrospectively manipulated viral samples to give credence to the deception. But the argument is said to have been dismissed by Patrick Vallance, who was a familiar face during the pandemic as he flanked Mr Johnson at No 10 news conferences. In a new statement from Dearlove, he writes that 'Boris himself was persuaded by its argument. But the weight of the Government's scientific establishment, already signed up to the Chinese narrative, prevailed.' Last night, a source close to Mr Johnson pointed the finger at Lord Vallance for rubbishing the lab-leak theory in order to appease the Chinese government. The source said: 'Boris repeatedly asked the [intelligence] agencies to do more work on the origins of Covid. It struck him as simply too much of a coincidence that a mutant Covid virus appeared in a city that just happened to possess one of the only labs in the world that engineered mutant Covid viruses. Click here to read more…
