Top scientists set up ‘shadow’ SAGE committee to advise government amid concerns over political interference

Former UK chief scientist assembles independent group of experts

Top scientists are setting up a shadow version of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), amid concerns about “dangerous” political interference in advice to the government.

Sir David King, a former government chief scientific adviser, has assembled a group of independent experts to look at how the UK could work its way out of the coronavirus lockdown.

He said the 12-strong committee had been created “in response to concerns over the lack of transparency” from Sage.

The body, which will hold its first press conference on Monday, will focus on seven key points, including how testing and tracing can work, and the future of social distancing.

The presence of controversial government adviser Dominic Cummings at some Sage meetings prompted chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance to say a partial list of the group’s members would be issued “shortly”.

Sir David, who held the post under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s governments, has previously said he would not have allowed political advisers to attend such meetings.

The Guardian reported Sir David as saying: “Dominic Cummings has the ear of the prime minister, so who is informing the prime minister about scientific advice?

“Is it Cummings or is it the chief scientific adviser? Suddenly you get a confusion.

“There must be a single voice taking the view of the scientific community to the prime minister, that is the most important thing.”

Sir David revealed his plans for a shadow committee in The Sunday Times, adding: “I am not at all critical of the scientists who are putting advice before the Government ... but because there is no transparency, the government can say they are following scientific advice but we don’t know that they are.”

Criticising Mr Cummings’s attendance at the meetings, he said: “Cummings is an adviser to the prime minister and the chief scientific adviser is an adviser to the prime minister.

“So there are two voices from the scientific advisory group and I think that’s very dangerous because only one of the two understands the science.”

The Guardian had previously reported that one attendee of Sage had said they felt Cummings’s interventions had sometimes inappropriately influenced the impartial scientific process of the committee.

Another told the newspaper they were shocked at the advisor’s appearance because they believed the committee should be providing “unadulterated scientific advice”.