Jonathan Sumption: a response to my critics on lockdown

Jonathan Compton criticises my views on lockdown on two grounds. First, I suggested that it is up to us to decide what risks to run with our own bodies, not the state, and that those who did not want to run the risk of meeting infected persons could voluntarily self-isolate. For this, I am accused of ignoring the ‘societal risk’ that infection levels will rise to the point where supply chains break down, the NHS is overwhelmed and the fabric of society is at risk. Secondly, he says that my views, even if correct, should not be expressed by a former senior judge.

I recognise the first argument in principle, but those who put it forward as a justification for locking everyone up must surely offer some plausible reason for supposing that these extreme consequences will happen. Neither the government nor Mr Compton has done so. Mr Compton’s case is engagingly free of facts.