The mystery of the disappearing chief nurse

Why might a top medical adviser be dropped from the government’s daily coronavirus press briefing? This was the question that MPs were keen to answer after England’s chief nurse gave evidence to the public accounts committee on Monday. Ruth May, who was interrogated by the committee chair Meg Hillier, failed to appear at the daily Downing Street presser on 1 June – days after the Dominic Cummings lockdown controversy. Instead, Matt Hancock was joined by epidemiologist John Newton from Public Health England.

But those looking for a simple answer to the question of her sudden disappearance may be disappointed. She told the committee: ‘It is indeed true I was dropped from a briefing but that happens to many of my colleagues as well. That is a regular occurrence.’ When pushed on whether her views on Cummings led to her departure, Ms May issued a cryptic response: 

We talk about lots of these preparations questions and of course I was asked about lockdown and rules to lockdown. I