Professor Neil Ferguson resigns over married lover Antonia Staats coronavirus lockdown error of judgement.He had allowed her to see him twice despite just coming out of a two week isolation himself and Staats, 38,living with her husband and children in another house.
The epidemiologist, was the scientist who devised and recommended Britain’s coronavirus lockdown strategy,he quit as a government adviser after flouting the rules by receiving visits from his lover Antonia at his home.
In a statement on Tuesday, he said he was resigning his post on the government’s
Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), over an “error of judgment”.
According to the Daily Telegraph,the professor revealed that Antonia had crossed London from her family home to visit him on at least two occasions since lockdown measures were imposed, on 30 March and 8 April. Friends told the newspaper that Staats did not believe their actions to be hypocritical because she considered the households to be one.
But the visits clearly contravene the government’s “stay at home, save lives” message, which urges people to remain within their family groups and not mix with members of other households.
“I accept I made an error of judgment and took the wrong course of action. I have therefore stepped back from my involvement in Sage,” Ferguson said. “I acted in the belief that I was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus, and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms.
“I deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing to control this devastating epidemic. The government guidance is unequivocal, and is there to protect all of us.”