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@gbj_tester
His job was narrower than that, but some regard the old practice of keeping advice to ministers secret as one of the failures of democracy, insofar as ministers could state that they were making policy on the basis of scientific advice without ever having the advice subjected to public scrutiny. While Nutt was not employed to speak more widely on drug policy, he should not have been sacked for so doing. For the sake of transparency, he and other advisers should be free to explain to the public the full content of, and background to, their advice, without fearing for their employment if they do. Only then can we see how well our elected representatives are seeking and acting on expert advice when making policy. Johnson, and many ministers before him, has sought to shield himself from criticism by suggesting that his policy is scientifically sound and therefore inevitable, and has thrown a hissy fit when the scientist has stood up and told the world that the minister is wilfully ignoring the science and basing policy on moral prejudice instead.