lockdown London
© Reuters / Henry NichollsFILE PHOTO: Protesters take part in a march against coronavirus lockdown restrictions, in London, Britain.
LBC radio host and anti-extremism activist Maajid Nawaz has urged Brits not to be "scared" into supporting another coronavirus lockdown, arguing they do more harm than good - and then received widespread praise online.

On his LBC show on Monday, Nawaz - better known in the UK as an anti-Islamism activist and counter-extremism adviser - declared:

"Lockdown kills. It's as simple as that."

Questioning why the UK government has refused to release data on how many lives lockdowns are responsible for taking versus how many they save, Nawaz complained that it's a "simple question that should be quite easy to respond to."


"Do we know how many people would die because of lockdown compared to how many people would die if we do not lock down?" he asked. "And if we don't know that answer, then are we just grabbing - clutching at straws in the dark?"

Nawaz also took aim at those who support continuous lockdowns on the grounds that they "follow the experts," noting, "That evidence hasn't been published by our government and so anyone claiming that they follow experts and evidence has no right whatsoever and no basis to say they're following evidence."

Citing the claim by Bristol University's Professor Philip Thomas that the impact of lockdowns in the UK could claim the equivalent of up to 560,000 lives, along with UNICEF Health Chief Dr. Stefan Peterson's prediction that lockdowns could lead to a spike in child mortality rates across the globe, Nawaz concluded, "Now if the evidence is telling us this... why is the public being scared and bumped into supporting another lockdown?"

Brits praised Nawaz's warning on social media, calling it "powerful,""brilliant," and "eye opening."

Television presenter and former professional footballer Matt Le Tissier shared the clip on Twitter, as did the English pop duo Right Said Fred - most known for their iconic 90s hit "I'm too sexy."

Far from promising to ease the restrictions for lockdown-weary Brits as a mass vaccination drive begins, the UK government is rumored to be mulling even stricter lockdown measures amid the spread of a new highly-infectious Covid-19 strain. British Twitter exploded into a flurry of memes on Monday, as posters tried to imagine what the potential 'Tier 5' coronavirus measures could look like.