By David Tuller, DrPH
Earlier today I spoke with George Monbiot, a British investigative reporter and political activist, who has been a columnist for The Guardian for almost 30 years. He and I have been in occasional communication in recent years over an issue of mutual interest—the scandalous mistreatment of patients suffering from the devastating illness (or cluster of illnesses) known as ME/CFS and, more recently, from Long Covid.
For years, I have been hoping that a prominent British journalist would take on the charlatans who foisted the fraudulent PACE trial upon an unsuspecting public. Last month, Monbiot gratified that desire with a scathing column that correctly characterized the treatment of ME/CFS patients as a “national scandal.” (I blogged about the column here.) As he explains, his interest in the issue was largely prompted by the actions of PACE investigator Professor Michael Sharpe. Three years ago, at an insurance industry gather organized by Swiss Re, Professor Sharpe essentially blamed Monbiot for triggering patient reports of Long Covid by having written about it. (Monbiot’s initial 2021 column on Long Covid is here, and his response to Professor Sharpe ridiculous criticism is here; my blog about the contretemps is here.)