Edward Argar, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, tells Times Radio…

“We need cool, calm heads. We need to look at the data and we need to do everything possible to avoid any restrictions. Restrictions or curbs must be the absolute last resort. I’m seeing nothing at the moment in the data in front of me, in the immediate situation, that suggests a need for further restrictions. But that data changes day by day. I, the Prime Minister, the Secretary State, are looking at that data every single day. And we keep a close eye on it. What we’ve seen with this Prime Minister before Christmas, and over the Christmas period is he’s looked at the data. He’s judged it very carefully. And he, I think, shares that same view, which is we’ve got to learn to live with this virus.”

Health Minister Ed Argar has revealed a curious quirk of the Government’s ‘evidence based’ policy making on Covid. When asked by Graham Brady whether the Health Department will release its research reports on the presence of viable Covid-19 virus in the air in non-clinical settings, which have been subject to Covid restrictions, the reply was that DHSC has not yet concluded the research behind its restrictions.

“The National Institute for Health Research and UK Research and Innovation jointly awarded over £5.3million for a programme of research of eight projects to understand the routes of transmission of COVID-19 in different environments and groups of people. These projects are 12-15 months in duration and are expected to report findings in the summer of 2021.”

So there will be no evidence provided to support any of the restrictions until after they are due to lapse…

Health Minister Ed Argar impressively turned around an ambush by the BBC’s Nick Robinson, who argued that because Argar (who was not involved in Test and Trace procurement) favoured the company over local government because he once worked there. Robinson was a little lost for words when Argar informed him that in fact he worked in local government for four times as long as Serco, even as a Council Cabinet member for public health and social care. Oops…

The exchange is well worth a listen:

Funny how career politicians who have only ever worked for the state never get accused of being in the pocket of the public sector…

Appearing before the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Health Minister Edward Argar has admitted the first time he caught sight of the Government’s 2016 pandemic simulation – which uncovered crucial holes in Britain’s response capability – was after it was leaked to the Guardian in May. Seems likely…