Allowing some people to leave lockdown early could undermine collective solidarity and lead to a build-up of anger and resentment, a behavioural psychologist has warned.

Susan Michie, director of the Centre for Behaviour Change at University College London, said selective easing of the measures could alienate people who are forced to remain at home.

Professor Michie was speaking at the first meeting live-streamed on YouTube of an independent panel set up to rival the government’s secretive Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE).

She said: “In the lockdown, similar measures were being carried out across the whole population, by and large.

“But what we’re going to be seeing is different measures for different sections of the population.

“If it’s not handled well, it risks potential division between groups, risks perceived inequality and injustice and unfairness, which can lead to resentment and anger and people getting alienated from the collective and what’s being asked of them.”

Prof Michie said older and vulnerable people may be asked to stay at home for longer while others are allowed to return to work and socialise.

And people will have to resume a household lockdown if they are found to have been in contact with someone with COVID-19.

They will need financial security, she said.

The “Independent SAGE” was convened by former government chief scientist Professor Sir David King.

He has warned that public trust in science is being undermined by the secrecy shrouding the government committee.

The names of members were released on Monday after weeks of pressure from critics, but the details of their discussions have been withheld.

The independent group consisted of 12 experts. In their first meeting, they questioned whether the government’s policy was to suppress the virus or manage its spread.

They also highlighted the paucity of evidence on immunity, yet that’s critical in predicting the likelihood of a second wave of the disease.

But the committee failed to offer the government any new advice.

Sir David told Sky News: “This was a two-and-a-half to three-hour meeting and it is only just completed. We haven’t been able to go through in detail all the discussions.

“But what would be understood by anybody who watched it was what science in progress looks like, the peer review system where people are challenging each other.

“The important thing here is to demonstrate in an open way how these scientific discussions take place.”

David Davis MP, who has criticised the lack of transparency in the government committee, said the independent group’s deliberations had been a success.

“Science is about contesting ideas arbitrated by facts and that was exactly what was happening today,” he said.

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