An open letter asking NHS England to keep its code open

The big fight here is simple: a group of NHS supporters is begging NHS England not to hide software built with public money, arguing that if taxpayers paid for it, taxpayers should be able to see it. Their open letter says shutting the code away is the exact opposite of good practice, and compares open code to an immune system: messy, yes, but stronger because it gets tested in the open.

But the real fireworks are in the comments, where people are treating this like a full-blown public sector plot twist. One of the strongest reactions says this is a wild overreaction to a supposed threat, with one commenter flatly arguing that even official security bodies haven’t recommended such a move. Another person went full battle-drums mode by linking a post titled “NHS Goes to War Against Open Source”, which pretty much tells you the mood: dramatic, suspicious, and not exactly calm.

Then came the side quests. One commenter used the moment to slam pricey “accessibility overlays,” saying NHS providers are wasting money on tools that can actually make websites worse for disabled people. And in the funniest bit of accidental irony, someone complained they couldn’t sign the pro-public petition because Cloudflare decided they weren’t human. Meanwhile, a more cautious voice said many security leaders are now freezing open-source work altogether until they can patch problems in a day, showing this isn’t just outrage — it’s a real split over whether openness is brave transparency or reckless timing.