Next slide, please: The enigmatic Chris Whitty
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 1 July 2021
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As the pandemic was changing all of our lives, the most private of men was forced into the pressure cooker of public life, facing increasing public harassment. Sixteen months on, how well do any of us really know the doctor charged with keeping the country safe?
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Guests:
-Ben Spencer, science editor, The Sunday Times.
-Professor David Mabey, friend and former colleague of Chris Whitty.
-Professor John Ashton, former president of the Faculty of Public Health and author of 'Blinded by Corona: How the Pandemic Ruined Britain's Health and Wealth'.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Clips: BBC Radio 4, BBC News, ITV, Sky News, 5 News, Euronews, Royal Society of Medicine, Gresham College, Nerys And The Soul Traders on YouTube, Darren Dutton on YouTube.
This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:58.9 | asking store for details. It's easy to take a familiar face for granted. When the pandemic began, |
| 1:09.6 | England's chief medical officer was just five months into his role and his luck would have it. |
| 1:15.5 | The thing about Chris Whittie is here with someone who knew his way around government, |
| 1:20.3 | knew how to deal with ministers but also was this very well established infectious disease doctor, |
| 1:28.2 | his calm in a crisis, his calm in every situation. In two incidents last weekend, |
| 1:34.7 | Chris Whittie had those nerves tested. First, anti lockdown protesters chanted murderer and traitor |
| 1:42.8 | outside what they thought was his London home. |
| 1:45.2 | And then there were calls for police protection after he was grabbed in a Westminster park. |
| 2:02.3 | It's a reminder of how, as the pandemic was changing all of our lives, |
| 2:07.5 | this most private of men was forced into the pressure cooker of public life. |
| 2:13.5 | 16 months on. How well do any of us really know the doctor charged with keeping the country safe? |
... |
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