Scottish COVID-19 inquiry|22 Sept 2025 (morning session)

Dr.Ashley Croft. Responses to questions from core participants

Introduction

Returing for a second time at the Scottish COVID-19 inquiry is consultant public health physician and medical epidemiologist Dr.Ashley Croft. He will be testifying over the next 2 days. I have analysed his full statement below which will likely be a feature of later sessions.

Following the science?

‘‘..no high-quality studies (meaning, RCTs) in respect of any aspect of COVID-19 have been conducted in the UK, at any time.‘‘

-Page 4 of statement

Testimony highlights AM

Stuart Gayle KC references Dr Tegnell’s memoir throughout, from page 123 of the statement.

• Children NOT ‘superspreaders.’

• No benefit to closing schools. No risk/benefit analysis prior to closures.

• Grave societal consequences as a result of school closures with long term irrecoverable impacts for children.

‘‘DRAMATIC to close schools, because that is something that hasn’t happened in living memory.’’

‘‘The immediate harm would be to the children themselves..their learning would suffer, the nature of their human development would suffer.’’

‘‘Missing a whole year or year a half of school would be VERY gravely DAMAGING for children’s development.’’

Face masks

• No benefits to the population.

• May have INCREASED risk of infection.

• Downsides to masks distressing for people living with dementia in care homes.

• Fines upto £2000 for refusing to wear a mask.

‘‘RCTs demonstrate face masks in non medical settings (did not) have ANY significant effect on slowing the transmission of COVID-19.’’

‘‘They perhaps even CONTRIBUTED to the spread of infection if they are not being worn correctly.’’

‘‘There are societal and psychological downsides to mask wearing.’’

‘‘We did have to use FORCE (to get the public to comply) the police made many arrests of people breaking the regulations and draconian fines were imposed, i think the fine for not wearing a mask on the London undergound rose to £2000.’’

Feedback

Sent to me by a subscriber as a reminder fines for non mask compliance were even more steep than mentioned by Dr.Croft.

‘Photograph in September 2020 inside the entrance of Charing Cross railway station (which is both overhead and underground). The sign which ordered “You must wear a face covering, unless exempt £3,200 maximum fine applies”.

Professor Ferguson and Imperial College London

• Not a good track record.

‘‘Their track record wasn’t good so i was suprised this particular group of modellers were being yet again being invited into the arena.’’

‘‘Other modellers with far less gloomy predictions were not given the same credence or were simply pushed aside.’’

Adverse mental health impacts due to lockdown

• Restrictions will have accelerated the decline of those who died the most ‘involving COVID-19.’

‘‘One of the determinant’s of longevity and good health in older age is the social network’s that people have.’’

‘‘Lockdown immediately cuts away all of that social network dimension of health it just blocks it out..mental health will suffer as also will physcial health.’’

Statement highlights 145 pages

There were 152 questions submitted in total.

• Questions from Scottish Health Boards, NSS Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Public Health Scotland

Has the evidence led in the UK COVID-19 Inquiry led to further development in scientific knowledge and, if so, how?

---

‘‘Regrettably, no. As far as I can determine, and leaving aside industry-sponsored RCTs of vaccine efficacy and safety..

..no high-quality studies (meaning, RCTs) in respect of any aspect of COVID-19 have been conducted in the UK, at any time.‘‘

‘‘As far as I am aware, the UK COVID-19 Inquiry has not pronounced, as reasonably it could have done that RCTs should be, or should ever have been, a priority in the advancement of scientific knowledge.’’

---

What further disciplines of expertise are required in order to form a reliable view on the totality of the matters covered in your report?

‘‘In view of the very damaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic ..

..and especially of lockdown on all aspects of public life.’’

---

• Question from Scottish Care

Which of these non-pharmaceutical interventions does scientific evidence suggest reduces the airborne spread of COVID-19?

---

‘‘None. There was no scientific evidence in 2020 and there still is no scientific evidence [meaning, evidence derived from RCTs] that either (i) lockdowns, or (ii) face mask mandates, or electronic surveillance of the general population reduce the airborne spread of SARS-CoV-2.’’

‘‘The updated Cochrane review continued to show that outside of healthcare settings, face masks offered no significant protection against acquiring respiratory illnesses from viruses (including SARS-CoV-2).’’

---

Is Dr Croft able to comment further on the mental health consequences of social isolation, and how this affected (and continues to affect) different demographics within society?

‘‘Public health physicians accept that humans are social animals and require social contact for their mental and physical health. From this it follows that regular social contacts are an essential part of leading and healthy and fulfilling life.’’

---

• Questions from Scottish Health Boards, National Services Scotland, Healthcare improvement Scotland and Public Health Scotland

To what extent, if any, did "groupthink" played role in relation to understanding how COVID-19 is transmitted?

---

‘‘The Communist Party of China attempted to contain the COVID-19 epidemic (subsequently, a pandemic) in the same way as it had attempted to contain the continuing epidemic of SARS in China in 2002-2003 — namely, by lockdown and by electronic surveillance of the population..

..There was no evidence that this approach by the Chinese Communist Party was effective in containing SARS in 2002-2003 and it seems likely that SARS simply died out naturally in China, as it did in other countries. .

..Notwithstanding this, the UK government chose to introduce a nation-wide lockdown against SARS-CoV-2 on 24 March 2020…

..It must be the case therefore that the UK government were under the impression that the Chinese lockdown approach had scientific merit, even though there was no evidence for this in 2020, and there is still no evidence.’’

---

• Questions from the College of Paramedics

Please could you set out the state of existing knowledge as to the efficacy and importance of effective PPE at the start of the pandemic in Scotland and as it progressed, with reference to the growing body of publicly available international evidence.

‘‘Surprisingly, there are still no randomised controlled trials of the effectiveness or otherwise of PPE (apart from masks)…

..I do not know why there has been a delay in the acquisition of further evidence. The reason may be a lack of funding.’’

---

Do you now accept there is a credible body of evidence to suggest that these healthcare workers ought to have been better protected?

‘‘There was no evidence at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is no evidence now, regarding the use of PPE outside hospital settings.’’

---

Is Dr Croft able to comment on the extent to which, in his expert opinion, social isolation was justified in the circumstances?

‘‘There was no scientific evidence to support the imposition of lockdown.

The "blind lockdown of whole populations" as occurred in the UK and other countries is not supported by scientific evidence of effectiveness and is a measure which carries huge collateral damage to the mental health of the population and also has grave consequences for business, education and training of young people..

.. the imposition of social isolation on a nationwide scale should have been questioned.’’

---

• Questions Scottish Vaccine Injury Group

‘‘Do you, in retrospect, have any comments or updated information about lockdowns in the UK / Scotland and their efficacy?’’

‘‘It is still the case (in August 2025) that there is no scientific evidence to support the use of societal lockdown, as a measure to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses — such as, influenza viruses, and coronaviruses.’’

---

• Questions from the Scottish Covid Bereaved

Would you accept that you have an anti-pharmaceutical industry view?

‘‘No’’

---

You describe Swine Flu as an Epidemic. Was it in fact a Pandemic?

‘‘WHO declared swine flu to be a pandemic on 11 June 2009..a decision that subsequently was widely criticised. Arguably, it was a false pandemic.’’

‘‘The UK government response at the time was alarmist, and was heavily based (as also was the UK government response to the COVID-19 pandemic) on `worst-case' modelling by scientists at Imperial College.’’

Thoughts

Dr.Croft is confirming that even 2 years on from his July 2023 appearance lockdowns and population masking are still based on no reputable science yet unarguably caused mass suffering and harm. The use of gloves, gowns and face shields also had no evidence of benefit.

Novel gene technology injections were never tested to stop transmission but still promoted to the public as a way to ‘protect others’ and despite concerning MHRA safety data were also deemed ‘safe and effective.’

Even more astonishingly in 2025 the best available scientific evidence cannot demonstrate ANY lives have been saved from the mass ‘vaccination’ programme yet the injection as of Autumn 2025 is still on offer to infants 6 months old and Public Health Scotland claim over 22,000 lives have been saved by the injection!

Furthermore children aged 12 to 15 with severe neurodisabilities, down's syndrome, immunosuppression and multiple or severe learning disabilities were recommended the Pfizer injection despite particpiants with these conditions excluded from the clinical trials!

A reminder despite no quality scientific evidence for lockdown benefits yet enormous levels of harm which are well known MSPs (Greens/SNP) retained the powers to lockdown the Scottish population any-time in future.

Of course the real elephant in the room given the inquiries own evidence which no one wants to dicuss is what was really responsible for generating excess deaths upon those already very frail in care homes during the March-May 2020 lockdown? 1 I don’t believe it was any novel virus nor were mistakes made but even if they were where is the accountability?

Thanks for your attention.

Like, share and comment if you care.

X-link

End