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Lockdowns 'kill more Britons than they save': Leading economists warn that Government's coronavirus strategy is coming with a heavy price

Top economists warned yesterday that the Government is 'killing more people than it could possibly save' through lockdowns.

Giving evidence to the Treasury Committee, three experts urged Boris Johnson to rethink his approach.

Two of them claimed blanket lockdowns have already caused more suffering than they mitigated – damaging the economy, mental health and job prospects.

Top economists warned yesterday that the Government is 'killing more people than it could possibly save' through lockdowns

Top economists warned yesterday that the Government is 'killing more people than it could possibly save' through lockdowns

Gigi Foster, a professor at the University of New South Wales who has been advising Australian policy, said: 'It's very clear that the UK is killing many more people via lockdowns and suspended health services than it could possibly save from Covid.'

David Miles, of Imperial College London, said a short, sharp lockdown could have been effective but that a three-month lockdown 'didn't look sensible'.

Tony Yates, of think-tank the Resolution Foundation, was cautious of relaxing restrictions too speedily but said the first lockdown should probably have ended sooner.

The economists' advice will weigh on the Government, as Mr Johnson tries to suppress a rapid increase in Covid-19 cases and Chancellor Rishi Sunak desperately tries to keep a grip on the public finances.

Professor Foster urged policymakers to focus resources on protecting the elderly and vulnerable.

She added: 'I think the main thing that's needed is a new Government message. One of the big mistakes of the UK Government and other governments around the world has been to fan the fear of the virus rather than controlling the fear and dampening it and providing perspective.

She claimed that global data from the World Health Organisation indicated that Covid-19 was not deadly for most people, who should be going about their business as normal.

Mr Yates pointed out that global data simply did not apply to the UK, where Covid-19 seems to have caused proportionally many more deaths.

Giving evidence to the Treasury Committee, three experts urged Boris Johnson to rethink his approach to lockdowns

Giving evidence to the Treasury Committee, three experts urged Boris Johnson to rethink his approach to lockdowns

Although he agreed that the lockdown which began in March and ran on for more than three months should probably have ended sooner, he criticised the Government for not acting faster when the pandemic began to spread.

He said: 'To me there is no alternative except for stumbling through these lockdown measures, hoping that test and trace improves, hoping that a vaccine comes. The only alternative is a regular harvest of about 0.6 per cent of the population.'

Both Professor Miles and Mr Yates emphasised the need for better testing capabilities.

Mr Miles suggested that tests need only be around 80 per cent reliable, as long as they were quick and easy to use, were cheap and readily available to the public, and could be used regularly.

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