“When the first lockdown happened, no one really knew what Covid was. It was such a new disease and the prevailing medical advice was that schools should close, so we obeyed it. There didn't seem to be any choice about that at all. We had taken the view that we should follow the science.”

British politician

Sir Gavin Alexander Williamson is a British politician, active in the Conservative Party, born in 1976. He has served as the Member of Parliament for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge, formerly South Staffordshire, since 2010. He held several Cabinet posts between 2016 and 2022. Those included Government Chief Whip, Secretary of State for Defence, Secretary of State for Education, and Minister of State without Portfolio, under Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Rishi Sunak. His public profile is tied to parliamentary leadership and ministerial office.