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Prof Neil Ferguson still influencing Government's coronavirus plan despite resigning for breaking lockdown rules

Prof Neil Ferguson relinquished his seat on the Sage committee in May after The Telegraph revealed he had held trysts with his married lover during the height of restrictions - Prof Neil Ferguson still influencing Government's coronavirus plan despite resigning for breaking lockdown rules - REUTERS
Prof Neil Ferguson relinquished his seat on the Sage committee in May after The Telegraph revealed he had held trysts with his married lover during the height of restrictions - Prof Neil Ferguson still influencing Government's coronavirus plan despite resigning for breaking lockdown rules - REUTERS
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Professor Neil Ferguson is still influencing the Government's coronavirus response, despite having resigned his official position for breaking social distancing rules, it has emerged.

The disease modelling expert, credited with convincing Boris Johnson to embrace a draconian lockdown, relinquished his seat on the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) committee in May after The Telegraph revealed he had held trysts with his married lover during the height of restrictions.

The Imperial College London epidemiologist said at the time that he regretted undermining the Government’s message and that, as a result, he had “stepped back from my involvement in Sage”.

Downing Street also briefed reporters that there were other senior modellers on whom they could rely.

However, on Tuesday a witness at the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee revealed that Prof Ferguson is leading a team contributing to one of the most influential Sage sub-committees.

A government spokesman conceded that they still require his services.

Dubbed “Professor Lockdown”, Prof Ferguson has become a lightning rod for criticism among those who believe the virus could have been suppressed without such damaging restrictions.

His resignation was the second high-profile scandal of its type, after Dr Catherine Calderwood, the Scottish chief medical officer, quit when it was revealed she visited a second home during lockdown.

Matt Hancock backed Prof Ferguson’s decision to resign, saying the affair left him “speechless”, although the Health Secretary subsequently backed Dominic Cummings after he was accused of breaking the rules.

Giving evidence on Tuesday to the Lords committee, Dr Paul Birrell, from Cambridge University, said: “The Sage subgroup on which both Mark [Keeling] and I sit, SPI-M (Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling) has a further sub-group on forecasting. It’s about six or seven modelling teams, Matt Kelling and Neil Ferguson lead two of those teams.”

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A government spokesman said: “Professor Ferguson accepted he made a serious error of judgement and stepped back from his involvement in Sage.

"Prof Ferguson and his group have directly fed into SPI-M meetings since the beginning of the Covid outbreak.

"Since then he has not attended any Sage meetings.

“His research group at Imperial College is one of the leading authorities in the world on epidemics and it is important that we continue to have access to their work and that of other expert groups.”

The modeller resigned in May after admitting that, on at least two occasions, Antonia Staats, 38, travelled across London from her home in the south of the capital to spend time with him.

His forecasts predicted that, without a full lockdown, 500,000 people could die from Covid-19.

He did not respond for a request to comment.