Dear Church Leaders (and everyone else)
In this recent post…
…on the role of the public relations industry in the US during the covid era, I added some examples of similar things happening in the UK. For example, I pointed out how prominent doctors and influencers had pushed the covid narrative. And especially the so-called vaccines:
Prominent UK doctors on TV in the covid era included Dr Ranj Singh. And Dr Hilary Jones. And Dr Sarah Jarvis. And Dr Nighat Arif. And Dr Sara Kyat. The linked clips and articles have not aged well. Prominent UK influencers included Prof Trish Greenhalgh. And Prof David Strain. And Prof Devi Sridhar, who stated on BBC Newsround that “so far trials have shown the [covid] vaccine is 100% safe for children” (a claim for which the BBC quickly but quietly issued a low-key retraction without mentioning Sridhar by name).
I added too that:
Many establishment figures in the UK [were doing something similar] — politicians, royals, actors, sportspeople, comedians, celebrities, musicians etc.
In recent weeks it has come to light that TV doctors were paid to promote covid vaccination. And I thus updated the original article with links to the relevant evidence:
Update: It appears that Dr Ranj Singh was paid a substantial sum of money by AstraZeneca in 2022. And that a Dr Hilary Jones received money from several pharma companies during 2020-2022. As did Dr Sarah Jarvis. And Dr Nighat Arif. And Prof David Strain.
And added the comment:
I wonder how many more there were. And how many others — from government committee members to actors and pop stars, comedians, sportspeople, journalists, former politicians, celebrities etc. — were rewarded one way or another.
Whether they were rewarded or not, I think it’s an understatement to say that the material at those links has not aged well. That said, I am in some ways grateful to the likes of Shakin’ Stevens — of Merry Christmas fame — whose early 2021 vaccine promo was one of the things that made me think twice about what was really going on.
A 12-minute summary of the situation re TV doctors can be seen here.
For context, this recent article by Prof Carl Heneghan and Dr Tom Jefferson of the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine in Oxford makes the case, based on The Human Medicines Regulations 2012, that celebrity doctors being paid to promote vaccines is against the law.
The system plainly is not working though. As I understand it, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for enforcing The Human Medicines Regulations. But that in practice this is left to the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) which is “the self-regulatory body which administers the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry”.
Self-regulatory. Hmm.
At the very least, the MHRA needs root and branch reform. But the UK government’s response to 12,000+ people signing this petition was to say (in March 2024) that “there are no plans to review the MHRA, including its accountability, approval processes or its monitoring of the safety of products.”
But I digress. The gist of this post concerns something that has come to light in relation to the comedians link above, featuring this 46-second clip of Jimmy Carr, which provides important context for what comes next here:
Leaving aside the question of whether Carr was rewarded in any way for including this segment in his routine, consider this clip from Alistair Williams — the 2023 winner of British Comedian of the Year (an award which is apparently considered the “FA Cup of comedy”):
In particular, watch what Williams has to say from 08:25 through to ca. 12:10, and see what you think.
Food for thought.
I wonder how many more such examples will eventually come to light.
By the way, Alistair Williams is a Christian who is quite open about his faith. For example, here is a one-minute clip of him speaking in 2023 in the context of the last few years (transcript below):
You guys want to know what the answer is? You guys were asking earlier… what’s the solution to all this? I’ve got the solution but you’re not going to want to hear it. The answer to this is Jesus Christ. That’s the solution. Let me put it to you this way, right. This is who’s against you: the media, the universities, the police, the celebrities, the army, the navy, the military, the politicians. Whose help do you think that you need? You need God’s help, ladies and gentlemen. That’s the only way out of this. There isn’t a political [solution]. Russell Brand is not going to save you… Peace.
One to watch. Perhaps literally.
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