No 10’s chief scientist during Covid pandemic Sir Patrick Vallance joins Tony Blair Institute

Tony Blair said Sir Patrick’s expertise would be ‘invaluable’ to client governments

Sir Patrick Vallance advised the government during the global Covid pandemic and appeared in regular Downing Street briefings (AFP via Getty Images)

Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser during the Covid pandemic, has joined the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) to advise foreign governments.

The former chief scientist was beamed to millions of screens across the country during the pandemic as he gave regular briefings alongside Boris Johnson in Downing Street.

Sir Patrick advised the government for five years up until April 2023 and is considered a key architect of Britain’s lockdown policy.

Last year, the former adviser’s explosive diaries from the pandemic were read at the Covid inquiry, including an entry claiming Mr Johnson suggested he believed the coronavirus pandemic was nature’s way of dealing with old people”, as he resisted lockdown measures.

The former chief scientific advisertold the inquiry that he kept daily notes as a “brain dump” to help him “decompress” — and never intended them to “see the light of day”.

Sir Tony, who served as prime minister from 1997 to 2007, launched the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in 2017, a non-profit organisation that says it works with political leaders around the world to advise on strategy and policy.

Announcing his appointment on Tuesday, a Tony Blair Institute spokesperson said: “Sir Patrick brings significant expertise to TBI’s work on the transformative role science and technology can play for governments and societies around the world.

Chris Whitty, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and then Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance during a Covid-19 press conference at Downing Street (PA)

“Having previously been Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government and President, R&D at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Patrick has significant practical experience of government and cutting-edge scientific research.

“In his role at the Institute, he will provide strategic advice and guidance to TBI’s global policy work, as well as practical solutions to challenges client governments face.”

Sir Patrick has been appointed to the TBI’s “team of expert strategic counsellors”, alongside former chief of the defence staff general Sir Nick Carter.

Sir Tony said: “I am delighted that general Sir Nick Carter and Sir Patrick Vallance are joining the Institute as Strategic Counsellors. The depth and breadth of expertise they will bring in providing high-level strategic insight and advice within the Institute, and for the governments with which we work, will be invaluable.

“Our work with countries on peace and security and the opportunities provided by advances in science and technology will be enhanced enormously by their contributions.”