Sir Jonathan Van-Tam donates iconic suit to museum

Sir Jonathan Van-Tam has donated his signature Covid-19 briefing suit to a museum in his home town.

England's former deputy chief medical officer rose to national prominence during daily pandemic briefings where he frequently used football analogies.

Sir Jonathan, from Boston, Lincolnshire, is also renowned for his pinstripe suits and loyalty to Boston United, often wearing the club's tie on television appearances.

When handing over the memorabilia to Boston Guildhall Museum, he reflected on visiting the museum as a child and said the donation "marked a part of my own life and that of my hometown".

Sir Jonathan also donated a tie worn during the press conferences, as well as one of his Boston United ties.

The 62-year-old said: "I remember coming to the museum whilst growing up in the town and going into the cells.

"Now that my suit has reached the end of its working life, I wanted to donate it to the museum as it marked a part of my own life and that of my hometown."

Councillor Sarah Sharpe added: "We are currently working on a series of exhibition panels about famous Bostonians and this donation will be exhibited as part of that series over the next few months.

"Although we are rightly proud of our rich history going back over a thousand years, we are also keen to preserve contemporary history for future generations, and this donation fits very well into this category."

The Covid-19 briefings began on 16 March 2020 and were presented daily until June.

Sir Jonathan, a doctor specialising in influenza, served as deputy chief medical officer for England from 2017 to 2022.

In December 2020, he compared the stage of the pandemic at the time to scoring an equaliser in the 70th minute of a football game.

On another occasion, he likened the positive results from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine trials to scoring in a penalty shoot-out.

Sir Jonathan received a knighthood from Elizabeth II in 2022 for services to public health.

He was also granted the freedom of Boston in 2022 in a ceremony held at Boston United's ground in recognition of his role during the Covid-19 pandemic response.

He left his government role shortly after and became pro-vice chancellor at the University of Nottingham's faculty of medicine and health sciences.

Sharpe said Sir Jonathan was one of the faces many people remembered being symbolic of that time.

She added: "We see the suit as an iconic piece because it represents such an important period in recent history that affected everyone."

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