Chris Whitty

By David Bagnall

Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England, is a name and face we have come to be all too familiar with over the past 18 months, presenting countless public health messages about the pandemic. But who is the man behind the messages, and other than standing in front of the camera, who’s the man behind the lectern? For answers, it’s best to look to his past.

Born into the Whitty family in 1966 as the youngest of four children, Chris spent most of his childhood in Malawi and Nigeria, where his father was posted as a diplomat. He went to prep school in West Sussex, and later to Malvern College in Worcestershire where he excelled in his A-levels, despite the tragic loss of his father who was assassinated by the Palestinian terrorist organisation Revolutionary Organisation of Socialist Muslims, headed by Abu Nidal. Kenneth Whitty’s murder, which occurred in Greece when he was serving as Cultural attaché to the British Embassy in Athens, was explained in a message sent to a news agency in Beirut which said Mr Whitty had been targeted in response to Britain’s bid ‘to resume its former colonial role in the world by spreading colonial culture under a new guise’.

One year after his tragic loss, Whitty received a place at Pembroke College, Oxford. It was here that he qualified as a doctor, immediately taking up a role in Africa during the early ‘90s where he developed his passion for tropical medicine and infectious diseases.

Returning to the UK at the age of 29, he was recruited into the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, he also held a clinical position as a registrar at the Hospital of Tropical Diseases. A member of the interview panel, Professor David Mabey, recalled that there were multiple older applicants, though it was Whitty who “was exceptional, even in those early days.” As if to prove a point, he was soon recognised for his expertise in malaria research and was a key player in securing a $40 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for research.

In 2009 Whitty was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for International Development, where he was instrumental in tackling the ebola crisis in west Africa, a feat that enabled him to take up the same position in the Department of Health in 2015. It wasn’t until 2019, when Dame Sally Davies announced she was stepping down as Chief Medical Officer, that Whitty had the chance to fill her shoes after performing exceptionally during the ebola and Salisbury Novichok crises. Back then, it must have been impossible for him to realise the trials that he would face going into this role, just months before the pandemic struck.

Few could have ever surpassed Whitty as a choice for the position, even without the knowledge that we were going into a pandemic. His experience and expertise were perfect, being a trained epidemiologist, an infectious diseases expert and also benefiting from ten years of experience working in government – what more could a nation want from the man?

“Where Chris is outstanding is translating the science for the politicians. His job is distilling complex, nuanced science into something that can be put to them as a series of options.” Professor John Edmunds, an epidemiologist and member of the governments SAGE Advisory Committee – Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies – said. In short, he gives the government ‘science for dummies’ lessons – an unenviable task, especially during a pandemic.

As we have witnessed, it isn’t just the government to whom he gives these lessons, it’s also us, the general public. One Downing Street official remarked that when it came to choose who was fit to present the guidelines to the nation it was an easy decision: “If you look at the darkest moments of the pandemic and

Keneth Whitty, Father to Chris Whitty, assassinated aged 44

Chris Whitty, Boris Johnson and Patrick Valance presenting a public health message in 2020

ask the question, ‘Who does the public want to hear from?’ It was Whitty” he says. “They knew they were going to get straight, authoritative advice.”

The official wasn’t wrong, and soon publications like The Financial Times were calling him “an unlikely hero for anxious times”, and at one point, according to Matt Chorley, some have gone as far to claim that for those that believe in science, “he is like the pope.”

For all the exaggeration, there is no one who has disagreed that he has not inserted himself within the debates and discussions about the right course of action. In an address to the Royal Society of Medicine in April, Whitty commented that he would never overstep his remit, having a respect for the societal nature of politics, but when it came to his field, science, he would “really forcefully” present his case, demanding the respect that his expertise commands.

Alongside his wilfulness and penchant for clear and concise explanations of complex science, Whitty is also said to be exactly that: witty. Another Downing Street official commented that “He always has a sharp one-liner that will bring the conversation back to where it needs to be... He has a very dry sense of humour.” As all parts of his character seem to, his humour is another area of his ability to keep the conversation concise and focussed: after his heckling encounter on London’s streets earlier this year, Whitty swatted reporters questions aside, saying “I’m sure he’ll become a model citizen in due course.” Perhaps Whitty meant that this would occur after the completion of the 8-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, that his heckler received.

However, early on in the pandemic, before our first lockdown, on March 9th, 2020, Whitty stated at a press conference that “there is a risk that, if we go too early, people will understandably get fatigued and it will be difficult to sustain over time.” Though Professor Susan Michie, a behavioural scientist at University College London and member of SAGE, later disputed this, saying that the idea of behavioural fatigue was not recognised as a concept. To go further, she added, “It appears that someone made it up as shorthand then used it to justify policy... no one appears willing to say where it came from.”

Michie’s criticism is damning, particularly to those who view the man as a ‘pope’ of science, and indicates a slip in the otherwise pristine condition of Whitty’s reputation, especially when considering that we went into multiple and extended lockdowns anyway.

His comments concerning the initial deaths forecasted by Professor Ferguson’s team last February, which stated that hundreds of thousands were likely to perish if the virus entered the country, also demonstrate one of his few errors. Ferguson stated that “He was willing to accept them as a reasonable worst case, but not as the central estimate, at least not straight away”, and despite some sharing the same feeling, today’s figures show how wrong he was; over 155,000 people have died from the virus, with time still for more.

Moving away from his role as Chief Medical Officer, it seems as though his reserves of energy have no limits. On top of his governmental work, Whitty also volunteers at University College London Hospital as a doctor, despite the opportunity to take the time to rest instead. His superior, Dr Mike Brown, claims that he is always the first to volunteer for the unpopular shifts and times: “he doesn’t have children and so he’s always been very ok about taking the less popular slots”.

Whitty has said that “I self identify primarily as a doctor, so to me it matters a lot” in previous interviews. “It’s also helpful to talk to colleagues all the way through the system – doctors, nurses, all of the other professionals. It grounds you in how the system works.” His professionalism seems to know no bounds, only stepping down as an on-call consultant out of fears that he would no longer

be able to keep up with the official guidelines on top of his other work.

Without a wife or children, it seems as though his truly free time is taken up with what many would consider more work – degrees. Outside of his sizeable medical credentials, Whitty has obtained a law degree, MBA and economics degree, something that many consider impressive to have just one let alone three.

Revealing something that is more relatable to most of us though, Whitty also commented that he enjoyed walking, kayaking and going into the hills and mountains for his times of true relaxation.

Perhaps, in light of Whitty’s personal life, it is fair to call him the ultimate public servant, ever diligent in his studies and duties, devoting himself entirely to the task at hand whilst also taking on voluntary hospital work on the side. There seems to be have been few moments when he has genuinely taken a step back from his working life, and without this level of commitment and dedication on top of his expertise and ability to communicate, we may have found ourselves in a wholly different situation, particularly when it comes to the vaccine rollout programme and the ability to provide as broad protection to as many as possible.