One of the UK’s top scientific advisers has defended an “England-centric” approach to data during the coronavirus pandemic.
Ex-prime minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street operation has already faced withering assessments of the way it processed key figures in the early days of Covid.
Now Ian Diamond, the UK’s national statistician, has acknowledged there was a focus on England over the devolved nations when it came to data, though he insisted steps were taken to ensure Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales were properly considered.
