She grilled the expert, saying: “You’re obviously focussed on this, you’re obviously very well respected – but there are other scientists saying something very different.
“When you look at what other countries have done – and the apparent effects that are happening… and the results that they have got, it makes it very hard for us to have trust.
“And actually, people aren’t going to forgive you or [Boris Johnson] if we lose the scale of people that we love dearly, as he put it, because of a failure to take action!”
Vallance carefully responded: “It’s important to hear all of the diverse opinions. My job is very simple: It’s to speak scientific truth to power.
