MORNING SERIAL
WE THEREFORE published what the First Minister had said. The story was read by tens of thousands but after several hours the Welsh Government contacted us telling us the story was wrong.
They issued a follow up statement saying: “Our overarching advice is to stay at home. You need a reasonable excuse to go out, and arranging to meet friends and family is not a reasonable excuse.”
By the time the Welsh Government had issued their second statement over 50,000 people had read the story. There is no other way of framing it – the First Minister of Wales had given the wrong advice. This really matters for several reasons.
First, the perception that the First Minister was not fully informed on one of the biggest public health threats is not good for public confidence. For weeks people in Wales, many desperately lonely or with mental health problems, had not been able to meet their support networks face to face because of these rules but the bloke responsible for setting these rules does not seem to know what they are.
Secondly, and most importantly, incorrect advice kills people. If these rules exist, they exist because they are necessary to keep people alive. People had been desperate to see their family or close friends and may quite naturally have made plans immediately after reading the article to meet people in their local park. Yet because of this error by the First Minister they took an unnecessary risk to their health and those of a loved one. Not to mention the fine they could have received for doing so.
When we had amended the content of the original article a colleague and I had a serious conversation about what to do next. There were multiple things to consider. First, there were 50,000 people who were now living under the false assumption that they could arrange to meet their loved ones in a park. They were not likely to come back and re-read the amended story (why would they?). Secondly, the First Minister had made a mistake that could cost the lives of people in Wales.
Lockdown Wales by Will Hayward £9.99 www.serenbooks.com/ productdisplay/lockdown-wales ISBN 9781781726013
CONTINUES TOMORROW