Vaccine Tsar Kate Bingham, pictured, was criticised for spending £670,000 on public relations companies after her appointment
She was a pioneer of bog snorkelling, the ultimate test of stamina and endurance amid unforgiving Welsh landscapes.
And the lessons Kate Bingham learned about triumphing in the face of adversity have helped make her the figurehead of Britain’s internationally envied pursuit of vaccines to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Bingham’s appointment last year to lead the UK Vaccine Taskforce was initially mired in claims of cronyism and inexperience, but there are now calls for her to be awarded a damehood.
Sir John Bell, Oxford University’s regius professor of medicine , said: ‘She was really ruthless and really tough. It’s not a given that the UK would have ended up where it is now without her.’