---
type: Conversation
title: Private channel session 257
description: "slack conversation, 15 messages, 2020-07-29."
tags:
  - conversation
  - slack
medium: slack
message_count: 15
started_at: "2020-07-29T15:59:25"
ended_at: "2020-07-29T19:23:08"
duration_seconds: 12223
sources:
  - { id: slack_pm, resource: /sources/slack-pm.md, title: Slack / Private Message Drop, author: "process:senate-hsgac-release" }
generated: { by: randpaul-corpus-pipeline/1.0, at: "2026-08-01T12:42:27Z" }
status: stable
---

A slack conversation of 15 messages spanning 3h 23m.

# Metadata

- **Started:** 2020-07-29T15:59:25
- **Ended:** 2020-07-29T19:23:08
- **Duration:** 3h 23m
- **Participants:** 4
- **Source:** [slack_pm](/sources/slack-pm.md)
- **Pages:** 119-121

# Participants

* [Andrew Rambaut](/people/andrew-rambaut.md)
* [Edward C. Holmes](/people/edward-c-holmes.md)
* [Kristian G. Andersen](/people/kristian-g-andersen.md)
* [Robert F. Garry](/people/robert-f-garry.md)

# Transcript

**[2020-07-29T15:59:25] Kristian G. Andersen:** How's this for a first draft: Dear Clare, We wanted to alert you to this anonymous email that was shared with us from a reputable journalist. The email makes several serious allegations about the research ethics of our "Proximal Origin" paper that we submitted to Nature a while back. The libelous allegations are false and we are taking this matter very seriously. The anonymous emailer (let's call the person RB) names you and your journal and describes several private and confidential details about the review process. We believe that RB is either Reviewer 2 of our paper, or Reviewer 2shared confidential information with RB. There are no other explanations for how RB could have obtained this…

**[2020-07-29T16:02:19] Kristian G. Andersen:** ... let me get this on a Google Doc...

**[2020-07-29T16:03:25] Kristian G. Andersen:** https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lMm6tD1L7a7yz6FFyhaY95y30Dl7Zkg26wqsm6SYnaI/edit?usp=sharing

**[2020-07-29T16:21:11] Andrew Rambaut:** Hi - I am not sure about this (emailing Clare) - are we giving too much away here?

**[2020-07-29T16:23:36] Andrew Rambaut:** I am just trying to think through what she will do?

**[2020-07-29T16:24:02] Kristian G. Andersen:** I don't think we're giving away anything are we? She'll reach out to Reviewer 2 and possibly 1. And bring it up with the journal

**[2020-07-29T16:43:34] Andrew Rambaut:** Made some suggested edits to disentangle the libellous allegations from the reviewing breach. Feel free to revert.

**[2020-07-29T17:35:32] Edward C. Holmes:** I've made some edits as well. My version is below. We need to think this through very carefully. Kristian, you should run it past your comms person. I don't think we should ask Clare to resolve the matter as it's not her doing and this just puts it ball in her court which seems unfair. I think just alerting her is enough:

**[2020-07-29T17:35:35] Edward C. Holmes:** Dear Clare, We wanted to alert you to this anonymous email that was shared with us from a reputable journalist. The email makes several serious allegations, including details about a confidential and private meeting involving senior US andUK officials/scientists on a topic that is highly sensitive but ultimately led to our "Proximal Origins" paper that wesubmitted to Nature some months ago. The allegations are false, we feel they are libelous, and we are taking this matter very seriously. We are contacting you because the email also shows a breach in confidentiality of the peer review process. The anonymous emailer (individual B) names you and Nature and describes several private and…

**[2020-07-29T18:05:06] Kristian G. Andersen:** Sounds good. And let's wait until we hear back from Jeremy before next steps - there's no rush

**[2020-07-29T18:05:41] Kristian G. Andersen:** My comms person already looked at it and thought it looked good - he had a few minor edits that I introduced

**[2020-07-29T18:38:31] Robert F. Garry:** Extra points for subtle clues - individual B - very Agatha Christie!

**[2020-07-29T18:43:40] Kristian G. Andersen:** Well, I called him 'RB', but Andrew thought that was a little too much...

**[2020-07-29T19:11:17] Edward C. Holmes:** I've been thinking of a lot of worse names

**[2020-07-29T19:23:08] Edward C. Holmes:** My anger on this is increasing rather than abating.