Dr. Ros Jones, a retired consultant pediatrician and member of HART (a group of doctors, academics, scientists, and others concerned with COVID-19 pandemic policy and guidance), co-wrote a letter titled “Safety and Ethical Concerns Surrounding COVID-19 Vaccination in Children.” The letter was sent to top UK scientists in charge of the pandemic response including the CEO of the Medicines & Healthcare Devices Regulatory Authority (MHRA), the chairman of the JCVI COVID-19 vaccines committee, the chief medical officer, and the chief scientific officer. Jones and several scientists voiced their concerns about government representatives’ urge to “turn to children as fast as we can” and the use of coercive language in teaching unions. The NHS has started rolling out the COVID-19 jab to school children aged 12 to 15 since September 2021.
Recently, Jones has discovered that she had been reported to the government’s disinformation unit for co-writing the controversial letter. She suspected that Chris Whitty’s office must have forwarded the letter to the Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU). The CDU, which is part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, aims to help the government understand online disinformation narratives and artificially manipulated information environments. However, the government stated that these units used publicly available data, including material shared on social media platforms, to evaluate UK disinformation trends and narratives while not targeting individuals or infringing on anyone’s ability to discuss and debate issues freely.
Headmaster Mike Fairclough also found out this year that his social media posts were monitored by the government disinformation unit for questioning the effects of lockdown and masking on children and the mRNA vaccine rollout. Both Jones and Fairclough claimed that their surveillances violated free speech.