Expert: Powerful official bears a heavy responsibility

Got the prime minister Mette Frederiksen (S) to know, to the Health director, Søren Brostrøm, warned against the extensive decommissioning of Denmark, a few hours before it was announced to the population?

Or selected by the director in the ministry of Health, Per Okkels, to withhold the warnings?

The question arises, after Ekstra Bladet has presented a hitherto unknown mailudveksling between Per Okkels and Søren Brostrøm.

- Per Okkels assume something heavy responsibility, he sorts in it that comes on to the government. Here are some very clear professional warnings, and them he lets so not get on, says Stone Bønsing, professor of administrative law at the University of Aalborg.

Policy - 13. aug. 2020 - pm. 19:15 Brostrøm was ignored as the country is closed

Mailudvekslingen shows that Brostrøms before the historic news conference 11. march warned that a shutdown of schools, kindergartens and nurseries were out of proportion.

Per Okkels response was:

'the principle of Proportionality in the first few weeks, I have thus failed, and left to a government decision.'

It will now get the Stone Bønsing to call for the answers.

- It becomes more and more interesting, what Okkels has taken on in the process, and what he has said to the government. He positively said that it here is a recommendation, or if he just said nothing, knowing that in each case, Brostrøm was clearly against, he says.

the Danish policy - 28. may. 2020 - pm. 17:32 of Internal power struggle: Sat Brostrøm in place

Stone Bønsing believe that it is problematic, if Okkels have withheld warnings:

- It is a problem, because a part of the professional assessments, as the officials come to, goes precisely on the proportionality.

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Magnus Heunicke will not respond to Extra The issues in the case. Photo: Jens Hartmann Schmidt/Ritzau Scanpix

Neither Per Okkels and health minister Magnus Heunicke (S) want to speak to Ekstra Bladet.

‘Health - and Ældreministeriet has no comments and refers to the success of the expert study on the many decisions that were taken when the pandemic hit Denmark. The work of the ministry to contribute actively to,’ write the ministry of Health.

It has also not been possible to get a comment from Søren Brostrøm.

Søren Brostrøm. Picture: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix