The Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, in an interview with BBC Radio 4, said science needs to shape policy, especially as world leaders gear up to tackle climate change. 

He said that integrating science and politics "has got to be the primary aim", and added: "Science needs to be everywhere, it can't sit as if it's one thing off to the side.

"I've got nothing against the idea of a very powerful science minister, what could be wrong with that, and cabinet positions that speak for science.

"Don't think that science gets concentrated in one place. Science applied to policy is relevant everywhere it can't be hived off."

England's top scientist has said acting sooner and harder is the best way to deal with the spread of a future variant of Covid-19.

Sir Patrick said his job is "not to sugarcoat" the reality or tell ministers what they want to hear, but instead to ensure they understand what the science currently is.

He said his "mantra" throughout the pandemic has been that action needs to be taken sooner than it appears to be needed.

In a wide-ranging interview on BBC Radio 4, Sir Patrick said: "My mantra for a long time during this (pandemic) has been... 'You've got to go sooner than you want to in terms of taking interventions. You've got to go harder than you want to, and you've got to go more geographically broad than you want to'.