Jeremy Hunt literally just said Stephen Hawking was “wrong” on scientific basis for NHS reform

Deeply unpopular Tory Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has once again been the subject of uproarious ridicule on social media today after claiming that world renowned scientist, Professor Stephen Hawking, is ‘wrong’ about the scientific evidence for NHS reform.

Yesterday Professor Hawking had torn into the Tories’ management of the health service, accusing the Health Secretary of “cherry-picking” scientific research to justify his department’s massively damaging policy of underfunding.

Professor Hawking also claimed that Hunt had cited some studies whilst suppressing others, purely to suit the Tories’ own agenda.

Writing in The Guardian yesterday, Hawking wrote:

Hunt had cherry-picked research to justify his argument. For a scientist, cherry-picking evidence is unacceptable.

 

When public figures abuse scientific argument, citing some studies but suppressing others to justify policies they want to implement for other reasons, it debases scientific culture.

 

One consequence of this sort of behaviour is that it leads ordinary people to not trust science at a time when scientific research and progress are more important than ever.

But Hunt hit back at the Professor’s observations, stating:

Stephen Hawking is brilliant physicist but wrong on lack of evidence 4 weekend effect.2015 Fremantle study most comprehensive ever 1/2

— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) August 18, 2017

And whatever entrenched opposition,no responsible health sec could ignore it if you want NHS 2 be safest health service in world as I do 2/2

— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) August 18, 2017

However, the responses to Hunt’s pitiful rebuttal won’t go down particularly well with the embattled Health Secretary either.

The top reply to Hunt’s tweets are from none other than Martin McKee, Professor of European Public Health, who states that Hunt was wrong, and Hawking was right:

Actually this Lancet paper showing effect due to casemix, not staffing is the most important https://t.co/ctIzz43blg Hawking is right

— Martin McKee (@martinmckee) August 19, 2017

So who do you trust: the opinion of Professor Stephen Hawking and Professor Martin McKee – two academics who have been proven right in virtually everything they’ve ever done. Or do you believe Jeremy Hunt, a man who has been proven catastrophically and worryingly wrong on virtually every claim he’s ever made about the NHS.

It really is truly fu*king shameful that the the public keep voting this utter cretin in. 

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