Jonathan Van-Tam granted freedom of Boston in ceremony

England's deputy chief medical officer has been granted the freedom of Boston.

In a ceremony held at the ground of Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam's beloved Boston United, he was made a freeman of the borough in recognition of his role during the Covid-19 pandemic response.

The 58-year-old came to public prominence during the daily government coronavirus briefings where he won fans with his frequent football analogies.

He said it was a "tremendous honour" and he was "very humbled by it all".

Prof Van-Tam was knighted in the New Year Honours list along with England's chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty, who attended a Boston United fixture with him on Saturday.

In mid-January, it was announced he would be leaving his role at the end of this month and will become pro-vice chancellor at the University of Nottingham's faculty of medicine and health sciences.

Speaking at the ceremony organised by Boston Borough Council, which now allows him to drive sheep over the Town Bridge and into the Market Place, Prof Van-Tam said: "What a superb accolade to be recognised by your home town and by the people you grew up with.

"I connect to my home town these days through my really happy memories, through people I still know in the town and of course through the football club."

Speaking about growing up, Prof Van-Tam said his childhood memories "live with you for a lifetime" and reminisced about growing up in the outskirts of Boston and picking vegetables.

Deputy chief medical officer for England since 2017, he often appeared alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson at televised news briefings, where he caught the public's attention by the way he described coronavirus.

He said his formative years in the town had aided him in giving the briefings, saying: "It's really helped me think about my audience. When I get deeply complex scientific questions, I think back to my audience and think: 'Well, what would they want to know?'."

He told BBC Radio Lincolnshire the pandemic had been "really difficult" for people, and in addressing his high profile during the response, he said: "It's something you have to face if you're in a national role, but I'd rather be Mr Ordinary."

Prof Van-Tam, who previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry and for the UK Health Protection Agency, also volunteered as a vaccinator to help distribute Covid-19 jabs.

On receiving his honour, he wanted to stress the team effort of the last two years, saying: "There are thousands upon thousands of people in this country who have done every bit as much as I have in their own roles either locally or regionally, and they all to deserve recognition and thanks."

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