Martin McKee
martinmckee.bsky.social
Martin McKee
@martinmckee.bsky.social

Prof of European Public Health LSHTM
Co-Director European Observatory on Health Systems & Policy
Member Independent SAGE
Past President BMA & EUPHA
Committed to 🇬🇧 rejoining 🇪🇺

https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/mckee.martin .. more

Clifford Martin McKee, CBE, is professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Source: Wikipedia
Public Health 40%
Medicine 24%

I’d been reluctant to raise this in case it gave people ideas but did briefly wonder if some Danish lawyers were reviewing the sale of the US Virgin Islands in case there was a get out clause…
100% this!👇
One basic lesson from political research is that secret police generally rely on mediocre men willing to do the dirty work of authoritarian regimes in order to advance their careers.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-the-fb...

It seems to me that one thing has received far less attention than it should. In what possible world is it acceptable for a law enforcement officer to fire a handgun with one hand while filming with a mobile phone held in the other? Or even to allow someone who would do this to have a gun (ever)

Believed there were WMD stil to be found in Iraq years after the invasion
Trump talks about Denmark and Greenland just now: "The fact that they landed a boat there 500 years ago doesn't mean that they own the land."

Reposted by Martin McKee

“If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer… And a people that no longer can believe anything cannot make up its mind…And with such a people you can then do what you please.”

Hannah Arendt

It’s bizarre - scientists are meant to follow evidence, which in this case is clear. Far more engagement here even with many fewer followers

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

I’ve been in decision-making roles in several projects and organisations where I persuaded colleagues we should exit X, even before it became a platform for child sex abuse. It wasn’t difficult. Its algorithms ensured our work never got seen. But even then the moral case was clear.

Reposted by Martin McKee

What role should parliaments play before, during, and after a crisis or emergency?

With the Institute for Government and the UCL Global Centre for Democratic Constitutionalism, we have put together an amazing lineup. /1

@efieldingd.bsky.social @timdurrant.bsky.social @drhannahwhite.bsky.social
Britain's leaders think X's diversification into child porn-on-demand is "unacceptable". Although, in good news for people who want child porn on demand, they will continue to accept it. thecritic.co.uk/poli...

This is an administration that attacks grants mentioning transgenic mice and microbial diversity.

Once again we rely on Spanish ministers to say the things British ministers are too frightened to say.
Spain's Youth and Children's Minister has asked the Public Prosecutor (DPP rough equivalent) to investigate X for peddling child pornography
Desde el Ministerio de Juventud e Infancia hemos remitido un escrito a la Fiscalía General del Estado para solicitar que investigue a la inteligencia artificial de X (antes Twitter) por presuntos delitos de difusión de material de violencia sexual contra la infancia.

So sorry to hear this. He was a truly wonderful person.
Spain's Youth and Children's Minister has asked the Public Prosecutor (DPP rough equivalent) to investigate X for peddling child pornography
Desde el Ministerio de Juventud e Infancia hemos remitido un escrito a la Fiscalía General del Estado para solicitar que investigue a la inteligencia artificial de X (antes Twitter) por presuntos delitos de difusión de material de violencia sexual contra la infancia.
There is video of the shooting of a woman by ICE in Minneapolis circulating that shows an ICE agent repeatedly shooting her at point blank range while she tries to drive off. There was no obvious threat to any ICE agent.

Europe isn’t BBC Today’s strong topic. With a few notable exceptions, the EU (or “Brussels”) is still a mystery

Reposted by Martin McKee

Public inquiries are becoming longer, costing more and often failing to achieve meaningful change, but as @rebeccamckee.bsky.social and @jackpannell.bsky.social argue, reforms must go further than the introduction of time limits and set budgets

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/publ...
Public inquiry reform must be targeted at the right problems | Institute for Government
Government reforms to public inquiries need to address the role played by ministers.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Interviewee on BBC Today claiming, unchallenged, that Russian/ Chinese ships threatening Greenland. @auonsson.bsky.social is leading source on hostile shipping movements and not convinced (to say the least)

bsky.app/profile/auon...
The US commander in chief has famously claimed that Greenland waters are teeming with Russian and Chinese vessels.

According to AIS data this is bollocks to speak European.

There are 8 Chinese and 0 Russian vessels in US waters, none in Greenland.

And if, after that, anyone wants to respond to the U.K. consultation on the necessary changes, you can do so here (unsurprisingly I’m not in favour)

www.gov.uk/government/c...
Changes to NICE regulations: cost-effectiveness threshold
Consultation seeking views on proposals to give ministers limited powers to direct the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in setting the standard cost-effectiveness threshold.
www.gov.uk
When UK announced a deal with US on Pharma, @elstorreele.bsky.social & I were sceptical @bmj.com (not least because there is no text). Now we have the US interpretation and it’s not good 👇

www.bmj.com/content/391/...

Reposted by Martin McKee

While all the attention is on Trump's actions in Venezuela right now, here are some stories you might have missed over the holiday period told in 5 minutes.

youtu.be/-G7ZHqLiNu4
Authoritarian actions over the Holidays
YouTube video by Professor Christina Pagel
youtu.be

Reposted by Martin McKee

The US commander in chief has famously claimed that Greenland waters are teeming with Russian and Chinese vessels.

According to AIS data this is bollocks to speak European.

There are 8 Chinese and 0 Russian vessels in US waters, none in Greenland.

Reposted by Martin McKee

The government set up 7 new public inquiries in 2025

Which means as we start 2026 there are 27 public inquiries currently underway (21 statutory inquiries)

This is a huge number, at the start of 2016 there were only 10 public inquiries ongoing
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter - as.ft.com/r/2f3e7a51-e...
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter
[FREE TO READ] A look inside Elon Musk’s big tent
as.ft.com

Reposted by Martin McKee

🚀 We’re hiring a Senior Communications Officer (Utrecht, hybrid)

Shape how public health is communicated across Europe, working with EUPHA and the EPH Conference.

📄 12-month contract | 32–36h
👉 Apply: www.karelserecruitment.nl/job/senior-c...

#WeAreHiring #PublicHealth #CommsJobs #EUcareers
It's wild that the PM of a NATO member feels compelled to put out a statement like this vis-à-vis the US government.

This is the most plausible analysis I’ve seen given what we know. So can people stop calling what happened in Venezuela “regime change”? “Protection racket” with some “kidnapping” to instil fear seems more accurate.
Haven’t seen analysis to this effect here, but this post from Alejandro Velasco argues that this is essentially a coup and have been hearing that many in Venezuela agree with this analysis.

Reposted by Martin McKee

Haven’t seen analysis to this effect here, but this post from Alejandro Velasco argues that this is essentially a coup and have been hearing that many in Venezuela agree with this analysis.

This is a classic zombie idea. We thought it died years ago but some people keep resurrecting it. Anyone who has studied EU-Swiss relations would know that another Swiss style arrangement is the last thing the EU wants. Endless negotiations to satisfy ideological red lines.