Sir Patrick, a scientific expert, has revealed that a mistake was made when a slide detailing the worst-case death scenario was shown to the public. This revelation came amidst the announcement of a second national shutdown on October 31, 2020. Despite Sir Patrick’s belief that it was a bad idea, Prime Minister Johnson insisted on showing the slide to the public as he saw it.
The Office for Statistics criticized Sir Patrick for not releasing the data and assumptions behind the worst-case scenario projection of 4,000 deaths a day by December 2020 if nothing is done. The then prime minister, Mr Johnson, was forced to hastily announce the closure after the plans were leaked to the media. He spent a lot of time on the phone explaining his thoughts to critics before the press conference.
Sir Patrick expressed his belief that the projection of 4,000 deaths was not a reasonable scientific slide to show. He also noted from his diaries in October 2020 that Dominic Cummings, a senior adviser to Mr Johnson, had claimed that “Rishi thinks he just lets people die and that’s fine.” This revelation added fuel to Sir Patrick’s skepticism about the government’s handling of the pandemic.