Liverpool university scientist has been sent suspicious packages over Covid

A scientist from the University of Liverpool who advises the government about Covid 19 has been sent suspicious packages by detractors, it has been revealed.

Prof Calum Semple, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said threats had come from "both extremes".

The professor told a Royal Society of Medicine webinar how scientists and others had attracted adverse attention from people who feel they are "making bad decisions".

He was asked about someone posting extreme abuse online.

The professor of child health and outbreak medicine who is also a consultant respiratory paediatrician at Alder Hey Children's Hospital has frequently appeared on television and radio during the pandemic.

He told the webinar that the government's scientific advisers were there to answer "exam questions from ministers or from chief scientific officers or chief medical officers" and to give best estimates.

Prof Semple said people do not appreciate that SAGE is not a decision-making body.