It was Winston Churchill who said that when it comes to the relationship between policy and science, input from impartial experts should be “on tap but not on top”. If the recent experience of dealing with Covid has taught us anything, it is that governments can be obstinately selective when they claim to be ‘following the science’.
To the public on the receiving end of the 24-hour news cycle, it often appears that politicians prefer the hype that suits their non-scientific priorities while ignoring the imprecations of neutral scientists begging to be listened to. All too often, when science and politics collide in public, people tend to get sacked.
For confirmation of this, turn to chapter five of Fiona Fox’s superb ‘Beyond the Hype’ (Elliott & Thompson, £16.99, ISBN 9781783966172), in which she outlines the downfall of the UK’s leading neuropsychopharmacologist, David Nutt, who suggested that the risks involved with taking ecstasy were no more significant...