May 05, 2020 · by Milena Veselinovic, CNN

Professor Neil Ferguson, who is based at Imperial College in London, is one of the architects of the UK government stay-at-home strategy and was a prominent member of Britain's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies SAGE which has been spearheading the coronavirus response.

In a statement to CNN, Professor Ferguson said he accepted he made “an error of judgement and took the wrong course of action,” and had therefore stepped back from his involvement in SAGE. “I acted in the belief that I was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms,” he said.

“I deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing to control this devastating epidemic.”

May 5, 2020 - The Guardian UK coronavirus adviser Neil Ferguson resigns after breaking lockdown rules

Key expert in coronavirus response resigns from Sage after admitting ‘error of judgment’ Prof Neil Ferguson, the epidemiologist whose modelling helped shape Britain’s coronavirus lockdown strategy, has quit as a government adviser after flouting the rules by receiving visits from his lover at his home.

Ferguson runs the group of scientists at Imperial College London whose projections helped persuade ministers of the need to impose stringent physical distancing rules, or risk the NHS being overwhelmed.

In a statement on Tuesday, he said he was resigning his post on the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), over an “error of judgment”.¹⁾