Rishi Sunak Covid inquiry – live: PM reacts to Boris Johnson’s ‘pro-death squad’ description of Treasury

Rishi Sunak today told the Covid-19 Inquiry that launching the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was “the right thing to do”, adding it was designed to be safe within the lifting of lockdown measures.

The prime minister, who was chancellor at the time of the crisis, also defended the Treasury which was described as the “pro-death squad” by Boris Johnson because it wanted to ease lockdown restrictions quickly.

This afternoon, counsel Hugo Keith KC asked Mr Sunak why the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was rolled out without consultation with Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).

Mr Sunak said it was a “micro policy” designed “specifically in the context of the safe lifting of [COVID measures] that had already been signed off”.

Earlier in the day, Mr Sunak apologised to bereaved families for the government’s actions during the pandemic.

The PM is the latest member of the Covid-19 cabinet to face the inquiry. Last week, former prime minister Boris Johnson defended his actions and hit out at “dramatic” representations of the Partygate revelations.

Key Points

• Sunak’s defence of Eat Out to Help Out - analysis

• PM hits back at top scientists who did not raise concerns

• 'Eat Out to Help Out was designed to be safe’

• WhatsApp messages ‘did not come across'

• ‘Deeply sorry’ for loss of lives

‘I was not aware the Treasury was called pro-death squad’

Monday 11 December 2023 15:17 , Alex Ross

Rishi Sunak has said he was not aware the Treasury was called the “pro-death squad” when he was chancellor during the pandemic.

The prime minister said the term is “not a fair characterisation” of “the incredibly hardworking people” in the department.

Former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance revealed Boris Johnson joked about the Treasury being “the pro-death squad” during the pandemic because it wanted to ease lockdown restrictions quickly.

In an extract from his diary, shown to the Covid inquiry, Sir Patrick said Mr Johnson “ended up by saying the team must bring in the pro-death squad from HMT [Her Majesty’s Treasury]”.

Mr Sunak said: “The people who worked with the Treasury who worked extremely hard that entire period.”

‘Eat Out to Help Out’ was a good idea – and the Covid inquiry’s rewriting of history is dangerous

Monday 11 December 2023 22:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In case you missed it:

The then chancellor had to protect public health and the economy, writes John Rentoul. Which is why I raise a glass to his efforts to save the hospitality industry (as I did in my Covid gastropub)

‘Eat Out to Help Out’ was a good idea | John Rentoul

Sunak says he has no Covid-era WhatsApps because he changed phone ‘multiple times'

Monday 11 December 2023 21:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Rishi Sunak confirmed that his pandemic-era WhatsApps were not available to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, saying he had changed his phone “multiple times” in recent years and not backed up his messages.

The Prime Minister, who served as chancellor during the coronavirus crisis, said he was never advised to save the exchanges, despite key conversations about the Government’s response taking place via the messaging app.

He argued he was not a “prolific user” of WhatsApp anyway, and that anything of significance would have been recorded officially.

It came after his Downing Street predecessor Boris Johnson also failed to provide the official probe with any communications from February to June 2020, a critical period in the early handling of the outbreak.

During his appearance on Monday, Mr Sunak was grilled on whether he had access to any of the WhatsApps he sent during the crisis.

He replied: “No, I don’t, I’ve changed my phone multiple times over the past few years and, as that has happened, the messages have not come across.

“As you said, I’m not a prolific user of WhatsApp in the first instance - primarily communication with my private office and obviously anything that was of significance through those conversations or exchanges would have been recorded officially by my civil servants as one would expect.”

PM ‘offered sorrow but no apology to families'

Monday 11 December 2023 21:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Lead solicitor for the Scottish Covid Bereaved, Aamer Anwar, said families who lost loved ones during the pandemic were “disappointed” by the Prime Minister’s evidence.

He said: “Rishi Sunak has finished giving his evidence today, and many of the Covid bereaved are left disappointed, he offered words of sorrow but offered no apology to the families.

“Rishi Sunak in his role as chancellor was Boris Johnson’s right-hand man, but his primary loyalty was clear - it was to the markets.

“Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson did not require the benefit of hindsight, the whole of Europe was watching in real time, a tsunami of the pandemic sweeping through Italy and the rest of Europe before hitting our shores.

“On the question of WhatsApps, the bereaved do not accept his explanation - the Covid bereaved find it inconceivable that any political leader anywhere in the United Kingdom cannot produce their WhatsApps for the key periods of the pandemic.

“The bereaved do not accept today’s excuses offered by the Prime Minister, that his WhatsApps are entirely unavailable.

“Rishi Sunak’s one-man mission to torpedo lockdown to gain a competitive advantage resulted in the false economy of sacrificing tens of thousands of lives to save the economy. Today the Covid bereaved do not accept his empty words of sorrow.”

‘Sunak’s testinomy the weakest I’ve seen at Covid enquiry'

Monday 11 December 2023 20:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Speaking after the hearing, Jean Adamson, who lost her father Aldrich Adamson to Covid-19, said Sunak’s testimony was the weakest she had seen during the entire inquiry and criticised his refusal to provide his WhatsApp messages sent during the pandemic period.

Ms Adamson, who is a member of Covid Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said: “The fact that he’s refused to hand over his WhatsApp messages shows that he’s not interested to learn lessons and save lives, and that he takes us for idiots.

“This morning his testimony has been so far the most pathetic performance that I’ve seen from the very start of this inquiry.

“He ‘doesn’t recall’, he seems to have memory problems - ‘oh, I haven’t seen that email’.”

“He takes us for fools and continues to treat us with utter contempt. If another pandemic struck tomorrow the country would be left in the disastrous position of having a prime minister who the public doesn’t trust to respond well.”

Bereaved families say PM’s evidence is ‘pathetic'

Monday 11 December 2023 20:06 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Bereaved families have called the Prime Minister’s evidence to the Covid inquiry “pathetic” and criticised his inability to recall emails sent during the pandemic.

Some people hung images of their dead relatives around their necks and when Rishi Sunak left the inquiry room many stood and held up photographs of loved ones who died from the virus.

There were collective sighs when, repeatedly, Mr Sunak said he did not recall pieces of evidence during his time as chancellor, including an email from his private secretary that cited fears the government’s measures to open up the UK after lockdown were “at the riskier end of the spectrum”.

Key points from Rishi Sunak’s evidence today- part three:

Monday 11 December 2023 19:22 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

- A sombre apology to the bereaved

As Mr Johnson did last week, Mr Sunak used his opening remarks to the inquiry to issue an apology. The Prime Minister said he was “deeply sorry” to those who lost loved ones and who suffered during the pandemic “as a result of the actions that were taken”. He added that “it’s important that we learn the lessons so that we can be better prepared in the future”.

- What was happening outside the inquiry

Mr Sunak would have been painfully aware that, as he gave evidence, restive Tory MPs were poring over his Rwanda legislation ahead of a crunch vote. In a blow to the Prime Minister during the inquiry’s lunch break, a panel of lawyers convened by rebel MPs rejected the Bill, saying it did not go far enough.

Key points from Rishi Sunak’s evidence today- part two:

Monday 11 December 2023 18:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

- Not recalling things

Mr Sunak was challenged over his hazy memory of a March 23 2020 meeting where the decision was taken to impose the first lockdown. “I can’t precisely recall that particular meeting,” he said, prompting lead counsel Hugo Keith KC to say: “This was, of course, one of the most momentous decisions in the history of this nation.”

Other elements he could apparently not remember included warnings over how risky the wider opening-up measures were ahead of Eat Out To Help Out’s August 2020 launch, concerns then-health secretary Matt Hancock said he raised about the scheme, and details of the free school meals policy.

- Defending his former boss

Mr Sunak played down suggestions by previous witnesses that Mr Johnson’s No 10 was dysfunctional and that he dithered over Covid restrictions. He said comments about the administration being “criminally incompetent” and “chaotic” were not shared with him at the time. It would be “worse” if there had not been “vigorous debate” over such consequential decisions, Mr Sunak argued.

Key points from Rishi Sunak’s evidence today- part one:

Monday 11 December 2023 18:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Rishi Sunak, who served as chancellor during the coronavirus pandemic and was responsible for implementing the furlough and Eat Out To Help Out schemes, appeared before the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Monday.

Here are the key points from his evidence:

- Defending Eat Out To Help Out

Mr Sunak offered an animated defence of his controversial initiative, saying it was the “right thing to do to protect” workers from the “devastating consequences” of job losses.

Grilled about why the Government’s scientific advisers and health secretary were not consulted, he argued it was a “micro policy” within the overall reopening plan they had already approved.

He added that they had “ample opportunity” to raise concerns and did not.

- Missing WhatsApps

Mr Sunak confirmed that his pandemic-era messages were not available to Baroness Hallett’s probe because he had changed his phone “multiple times over the last few years” and the messages from the old ones had “not come across”.

No one advised him to try to save messages for the inquiry, even when Boris Johnson announced its establishment in May 2021, he said. But, he noted, he was not a “prolific” WhatsApp user anyway and anything of significance was recorded officially.

Rishi Sunak defends Eat Out to Help Out scheme under intense pressure at Covid inquiry

Monday 11 December 2023 18:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Rishi Sunak mounted a fierce defence of his controversial Eat Out to Help Out scheme and said it was unfair to call the Treasury a “pro-death squad“ during the pandemic.

The prime minister used an eight-hour evidence session to brush off accusations that he launched the controversial hospitality-boosting scheme without proper scientific advice. He praised the “incredibly hardworking people“ working in the Treasury while he was chancellor, hitting back at Boris Johnson’s suggestion they were happy to oversee an increase in deaths in order to lift lockdown restrictions.

The now-PM also said he “consistently” warned his predecessor Mr Johnson about the wider impacts of lockdown, blaming the “economic scarring” it left for the nation’s parlous finances today.

Rishi Sunak defends Eat Out to Help Out scheme under pressure at Covid inquiry

PM reveals thoughts on free school meals during pandemic

Monday 11 December 2023 17:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Rishi Sunak has denied that anyone in Government expressed the sentiment that people requiring free school meals for their children during the pandemic were “freeloaders”.

He was also asked if he personally opposed giving free schools meals to deprived children during the summer holidays in June 2021.

Mr Sunak replied that the provision of meals is now “greater and more generously funded” than pre-pandemic due to the measures put in place during the crisis.

He added that the holiday activity and food programme at the time was “one of the most generous and comprehensive support packages put in place anywhere in the world, that disproportionately did benefit the most vulnerable”.

He told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry: “And actually, poverty actually fell during this period as a result. But it’s clear that that’s not sustainable forever.

“As the pandemic ended, and we returned to more normal life, it’s reasonable that we returned to a more normal state.

“But actually, when it came to the situation of free school meals, even though the pandemic support ended, more permanent, extra support was put in place to the provision of meals.

“And indeed activities today is greater and more generously funded than it was before the pandemic as a result of changes that were made through the holiday activity and food programme.”

Sunak’s appearance at Covid inquiry draws to close

Monday 11 December 2023 16:53 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Chairwoman Baroness Hallett thanked Rishi Sunak for giving evidence to her inquiry as his appearance drew to a close on Monday afternoon.

She told him: “Thank you very much, Prime Minister. I appreciate that - I doubt there’s ever an easy time for you to come along here to give evidence.

“Appreciate it’s difficult this particular week and thank you for your help.”

With that, the oral evidence for the probe’s second module is completed.

PM rejects suggestion of inequality

Monday 11 December 2023 16:27 , Alex Ross

The PM is now questioned by Leslie Thomas KC, counsel for the Federation of Ethnic Minority Healthcare Organisations. He asks if the PM would agree with him that he put ethnic minority workers at further risk of infection through schemes such as Eat Out to Help Out.

Mr Sunak says that’s not the case, and Eat Out to Help Out was set up to protect jobs.

Mr Thomas is also told off by Baroness Hallett for accusing Mr Sunak of running down the clock through his answering of questions.

Questions put to Sunak from bereavement groups

Monday 11 December 2023 16:13 , Alex Ross

Covid inquiry counsel Hugo Keith KC has finished his questioning of the prime minister. Now is the turn of the bereavement groups with Anna Morris KC, from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, the first up.

She asks about funding and support for care workers during the pandemic.

Following her, Nia Gowman, from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru, who asks if the Welsh government had the option to opt out of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

Mr Sunak says there was no reason to consult the Welsh government, which did not object.

She then shows an extract from a witness statement from Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford in which he claims that the Treasury was acting on behalf of England, not the whole of the UK.

Mr Sunak rejects the suggestion.

Sunak’s defence of Eat Out to Help Out - analysis

Monday 11 December 2023 15:44 , Alex Ross

The prime minister put up a strong defence for the Eat Out to Help Out scheme this afternoon.

The initiative was rolled out in August 2020, and came after indoor hospitality had reopened.

A total of £849 million claimed from more than 160 million meals across the country with people able to get a 50 per cent discount on their meals.

However, some have accused the government of pushing through the scheme in the interest of the economy with limited thought for the consequence on public health.

Mr Sunak today was quick to point out that the “micro policy” came after indoor hospitality had been opened.

He then went on to say the government’s scientific advisers had the opportunity to raise concerns between the announcement of the scheme and it being rolled out - but did not.

He later said the scheme was the “right thing to do”, pointing out the number of jobs saved as a result.

Clearly, Mr Sunak stands by the controversial scheme.

Watch: No one objected to Eat Out To Help Out, Sunak reveals

Monday 11 December 2023 15:35 , Alex Ross

‘I did not call poor parents freeloaders'

Monday 11 December 2023 15:23 , Archie Mitchell

Rishi Sunak has denied calling parents who cannot afford to buy food for their children “freeloaders”.

The prime minister, who was chancellor during the pandemic, was quizzed by Covid inquiry counsel Hugo Keith KC about whether he used the term amid a row with Marcus Rashford over free school meals.

The Manchester United star had campaigned in 2021 for food vouchers over the summer for children eligible for free school meals.

Sir Patrick Vallance’s diaries recalled a meeting in which someone said: “Good working people pay for their children to eat and we don’t want freeloaders.”

Sir Patrick said the comment was made by either Mr Sunak or the Conservative chief whip.

Asked by Mr Keith whether he was responsible, Mr Sunak said: “I did not say those words. I don’t recollect anyone saying those words.”

PM hits back at top scientists over launch of Eat Out to Help Out

Monday 11 December 2023 15:14 , Alex Ross

Interesting response from Mr Sunak after former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and England’s chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty said there were unaware of the Eat Out To Help Out scheme until it was announced.

Sir Patrick went on to tell the inquiry last month that Eat Out to Help Out was “highly likely” to have increased Covid deaths in the UK.

Speaking to the inquiry this afternoon, Mr Sunak said the top scientists did not raise concerns about Eat Out To Help Out in meetings following the initiative’s announcement and prior to its commencement.

When asked by inquiry counsel Hugo Keith why the Treasury did not “raise expressly” the matter of Eat Out To Help out in Covid-S meetings on July 16, July 22 and August 6 2020, Mr Sunak said there was “a month for people to raise concerns that they may have had”.

He added: “And actually it’s precisely in those three meetings that you mentioned; Covid-S on 16th July, the chief medical officer, in the minutes, talked about two significant risk moments: schools and winter. He did not mention Eat Out To Help Out.

“On the 22nd of July, the agenda item is August planning. And again, it was not raised by the chief scientific adviser or chief medical officer.

“On 6th August, the Covid-S meeting that you acknowledged, again, the minutes show that returning to schools was the single riskiest element of the Government’s plan. Those three meetings all happened after the announcement of Eat Out To Help Out, all of them involve the chief scientific adviser and the chief medical officer.”

'Concerns should have raised at the time’

Monday 11 December 2023 15:05 , Alex Ross

The prime minsiter says he does not believe the Eat Out To Help Out scheme was a risk and that the “onus” should have been on those who felt strongly about the policy to raise concerns “when something could have been done about it”.

Defending the scheme, he says: “Why would I raise it as a risk when I didn’t believe that it was? Because it was designed in the context of a safe reopening.

“The onus is surely on the people who now believe that it was a risk to have raised it at the time, when something could have been done about it, if they felt strongly.

“I’m very clear that I don’t believe that it was, because hospitality had been deemed to be safe to reopen with a considerable – as I said – hundreds of pages of guidance, changes in practice, and had been recommended by think tanks, and had been done by countries elsewhere.

“This was a very reasonable, sensible policy intervention to help safeguard those jobs in that safe reopening. That was my view. I didn’t believe that it was a risk. I believe it was the right thing to do.

“But if others are suggesting that they didn’t, they had ample opportunity to raise those concerns in forums where I was there, or where the Prime Minister or others were, and they didn’t.”

Sunak’s red bracelet

Monday 11 December 2023 15:01 , Alex Ross

Many eagle-eyed viewers of today’s Covid-19 Inquiry will spot the red bracelet worn by Rishi Sunak.

The prime minister wears it every day as a mark of his Hindu faith.

The bracelet, known as a kautuka, is regarded as a symbol of good luck and protection.

What is the significance of Rishi Sunak’s red bracelet?

'I was never persuaded by the circuit-breaker’

Monday 11 December 2023 14:58 , Alex Ross

Rishi Sunak has said he was “never persuaded” by a potential circuit-breaker lockdown in autumn 2020.

The prime minister confirmed he argued against the idea, which chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty has said could have avoided or shortened the eventual second lockdown.

“I was never particularly persuaded by the circuit breaker as indeed others weren’t either,” Mr Sunak said.

‘I have no recollection'

Monday 11 December 2023 14:52 , Alex Ross

Rishi Sunak has contradicted Matt Hancock’s claim that he warned the Treasury that Eat Out To Help Out was causing problems.

Lead counsel Hugo Keith asked the former chancellor whether he was aware the then-health secretary had raised concerns about the scheme to the Treasury, as he claimed he had in an August 2020 message as he was arguing against the extension.

“I have no recollection of him raising that nor do I have any record of him doing so with me at the time,” Mr Sunak said.

“But I do know he has said that there has been undue focus on this one item in his evidence to the inquiry.”

'There is no need for an economic Sage’

Monday 11 December 2023 14:49 , Archie Mitchell

Rishi Sunak has said there is no need to form an economic alternative to the emergency science group Sage.

“I’m not particularly persuaded that it’s necessary because unlike Sage, that expertise exists within government departments.

“The Treasury has the ability to do the modelling and the analysis that’s necessary on the economy and it works with external bodies,” the prime minister told the Covid inquiry.

Sunak clashes with Hugo Keith

Monday 11 December 2023 14:48 , Alex Ross

Rishi Sunak has clashed with counsel Hugo Keith KC a few times during this session now. Mr Keith has been unhappy on how the prime minister has appeared to take control of the questioning.

Here’s one clip where Mr Sunak fails to initially answer Mr Keith’s direct question.

Watch: Rishi Sunak clashes with Hugo Keith during Covid inquiry grilling

Primary concern to protect millions of jobs

Monday 11 December 2023 14:44 , Alex Ross

Asked about his decision to roll out Eat Out to Help Out, Mr Sunak says his primary concern was to protect millions of jobs of particularly vulnerable people who worked in the hospitality sector.

He said: “All the data, all the evidence, all the polling, all the input from those companies suggested that unless we did something many of those jobs would have been a risk with devastating consequences for those people and their families, and that’s why independent think tanks had recommended something like that.”

Unions not impressed by Rishi Sunak's memory

Monday 11 December 2023 14:38 , Archie Mitchell

The head of the Trades Union Congress’s Covid inquiry work has been unimpressed by Rishi Sunak’s evidence so far.

Nathan Oswin has taken to X, formerly Twitter, to compile a running thread of all the things the current Prime Minister cannot recall whilst under oath at the Covid Inquiry.

Rishi Sunak’s defence of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme

Monday 11 December 2023 14:36 , Alex Ross

Here’s what Mr Sunak said about the controversial scheme, which Sir Patrick Vallance, who was chief scientific adviser at the time, told the inquiry last month was “highly likely” to have increased Covid deaths in the UK.

It prompted another adviser to call Mr Sunak “Dr Death the chancellor”.

Mr Sunak told today’s hearing: “Because Eat Out To Help Out had been designed specifically in the context of the safe lifting of NPIs (non-pharmaceutical interventions) that had already been signed off, as we talked about before, as part of the May plan, which had reopened hospitality – indoor hospitality. That had already been part of the approved May plan.

“Eat Out To Help Out only operated within that context. And indeed there were a significant range of other NPIs that were in place, including social distancing, Covid secure guidance, table service, contactless ordering, one-way systems, all of which had been put in place.”

He added: “This was a micro policy to make sure that that capacity which the scientists had already said was part of an overall package which could be safely delivered, was actually used. And it was done very much in that context.”

Rishi Sunak told off by Hugo Keith KC

Monday 11 December 2023 14:34 , Archie Mitchell

Rishi Sunak has been told off by Hugo Keith KC for suggesting that the Covid inquiry has focused too much on Eat Out to Help Out.

The prime minister pointed to comments by Matt Hancock when he was giving evidence that there has been “undue focus on this one item”.

Inquiry lead counsel Mr Keith interrupted the prime minister, saying: “Excuse me?”

“It’s a matter for m’lady [inquiry chairman baroness Heather Hallett] with matters as to whether or not they are of importance to this inquiry.”

'People did not raise objections to Eat Out to Help Out’

Monday 11 December 2023 14:23 , Archie Mitchell

Rishi Sunak has said there was a month between the announcement of Eat Out to Help Out and its implementation, where nobody raised concerns about the scheme.

The prime minister is launching a robust defence of the controversial policy he introduced as chancellor.

He said: “I know there has been a lot of commentary on this point, but there was almost a month between announcement and commencement… but at none of those moments in those meetings, there was plenty of opportunity for people to have raised it either with me or with the prime minister.”

Mr Sunak added: “I’ve outlined my reasons for why we implemented the policy and why we thought it was the right thing to do. I believe it was the right thing to do to safeguard those jobs.”

'Eat Out to Help Out was designed to be safe’

Monday 11 December 2023 14:16 , Archie Mitchell

Rishi Sunak has defended his controversial Eat Out to Help Out scheme, saying it was designed to operate “within the safe lifting” of lockdown measures.

“We had already made the collective decision to reopen indoor hospitality and this was a policy that sat within and beneath that,” Mr Sunak said.

The then chancellor has been blamed for pushing up cases of the virus by encouraging people to visit restaurants in summer 2020.

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty has described the plan as “Eat Out to Help Out… the virus”.

Mr Sunak said the scheme “did not do anything further” than the lifting of lockdown that was already planned.

And he said there was no need to consult scientists specifically on the scheme, as they had already fed into the overall plan.

Mr Sunak said without supporting the hospitality sector many jobs would have been put at risk “with devastating consequences for those people and their families”.

Eat Out to Help Out - Sunak asked why he didn’t consult with health experts?

Monday 11 December 2023 14:15 , Alex Ross

Counsel Hugo Keith KC asks why, “in light of the obvious issue of transmission”, did Mr Sunak not consult with Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) or the Secretary of State for Health on rolling out Eat Out to Help Out, which encouraged people to eat out.

Mr Sunak replied by pointing out that indoor hospitality had already opened in consultation with health experts, and the scheme was a “policy sat within and beneath that”.

He added: “It was a micro policy within a package.”

Protesters outside

Monday 11 December 2023 13:55 , Alex Ross

While we are on a lunch break, just a reminder of those protesters outside Dorland House where Rishi Sunak has been giving evidence to the Covid-19 Inquiry.

Here, Aamer Anwar, lead solicitor for the Scottish Covid Bereaved group, speaks to the media ahead of further questioning of Mr Sunak this afternoon.

One subject of interest to those protesting outside will be the running of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which some have contributed to a rise in Covid deaths across the country.

We expect this to come up after lunch.

Eat Out to Help Out scheme

Monday 11 December 2023 13:27 , Alex Ross

First link to the controversial scheme, as Hugo Keith KC shows an email from his principal private secretary in late June, 2020, saying scientific advisers were warning the opening-up measures planned by the government in the summer were “at the riskier end of the spectrum” with the potential to increase the infection rate.

The Eat out to Help Out scheme ran through August that year.

The Prime Minister said: “I don’t recall seeing that email.”

He conceded that scientists “from the beginning they thought it was at that end of the spectrum”, but insisted they were on board with the opening plan.

Mr Sunak added: “My recollection was that we went over a set of things that could be done. It was conditional. It was delayed at one stage on the advice from the scientists. So, I think that shows that the process was working.”

‘It was a tricky meeting'

Monday 11 December 2023 13:25 , Alex Ross

Now on to another email from Rishi Sunak’s principal private secretary Elizabeth Perelma, this time on May 21 2020 on a meeting between Mr Sunak and Boris Johnson regarding the plan for lifting restrictions.

It said nobody could say the “chancellor has not eloquently and authentically put these points across … but once again, he was a lone voice and it was a tricky meeting where sense was they were trying to appease him”.

Mr Sunak told the inquiry he could not recall what that referred to but generally at this time he was “making the points about the economic impact, what was happening internationally, the fact that we were investing in test and trace”, and ways of managing an exit from lockdown.

He said “It was exactly around the time that it was clear that we had probably been overestimating R” and about “nosocomial transmission, where a large amount of the transmission that was happening was happening not in sectors of the economy that were open or closed, but in hospitals or care homes, which requires a slightly obviously different response”.

Treasury was worried its advice to PM was being ‘watered down’

Monday 11 December 2023 13:11 , Alex Ross

Rishi Sunak was asked about an April 2020 email from a Treasury official which made a remark about he wanted to “set out his views and the economic analysis to the PM (prime minister), without it being watered down by CO (Cabinet Office) process”.

Mr Sunak said he did not write the email and added: “I never felt that I didn’t have an opportunity to feed in what I wanted to the Prime Minister.

“I’m not sure how officials may have felt in their conversations with other departments or the Cabinet Office.

“I generally thought we had good constructive relations.

“For my part, I felt I always had the opportunity to feed into the Prime Minister’s thinking.”

Boris Johnson said the sooner lockdown was over the better

Monday 11 December 2023 13:02 , Alex Ross

Boris Johnson became agitated about lockdown in April and said “the sooner we get this open the better”, the Covid inquiry has heard.

An email shown by counsel Hugo Keith KC reveals the former PM thought Britain had “overdone” lockdown, highlighting that other countries did not close construction.

And the email, from then chancellor Rishi Sunak’s principal private secretary Elizabeth Perelman summing up a meeting between Mr Sunak and Mr Johnson, revealed that Mr Johnson was “agitated that he did not have a plan”.

It said: “His [Mr Jonhson’s] instinct is that we might have overdone lockdown.

“PM did agree that ‘sooner get this open the better’ (but caveated and said multiple times throughout the meeting) that can’t have another exponential increase.

“Overall the prime minister seemed agitated that he did not have a plan.”

A message Sunak keeps getting across

Monday 11 December 2023 12:39 , Alex Ross

Throughout this session, the PM has been keen to say the government had been following the advice of scientists, and quickly, during the Covid crisis.

It’ll be interesting if that changes later when we come to the subject of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

England’s chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s former chief scientific adviser, were never told about the plan, according to Mr Whitty, who spoke at the inquiry last week.

England’s former deputy chief medical officer, Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, also told the inquiry that he first heard about Eat Out to Help Out on television and said the scheme “didn’t feel sensible to me”.

PM told off for using inquiry to excuse record high tax burden

Monday 11 December 2023 12:35 , Archie Mitchell

Rishi Sunak has been slapped down by the Covid inquiry’s lead counsel for using his evidence session to excuse the record high tax burden.

The prime minister accepted that taxes have hit a “historic high”, despite his recent national insurance cut.

And he tried to blame “economic scarring” from the pandemic, insisting we are still grappling with the impacts of lockdown.

But inquiry counsel Hugo Keith KC said: “Please do not go on to the issue of tax burdens.”

‘Economic scarring'

Monday 11 December 2023 12:33 , Archie Mitchell

Rishi Sunak has accepted that taxes are “historically high” despite his recent national insurance cut.

Mr Sunak described the tax burden as “historically high” before quickly rowing back to claim they are “higher than I would like”.

The PM blamed “economic scarring” from the country’s borrowing during the pandemic.

Mr Sunak said: “The impact of having to pay it back only comes well after the fact when everyone can forget why it was necessary.

“And now everyone is grappling with the consequences, I am grappling with the consequences of that, as we have a historically high… tax burden that… is higher than I would like.

“That is a direct consequence of the support that was provided during the pandemic.”

‘Enormous anxiety inside the Treasury’

Monday 11 December 2023 12:31 , Alex Ross

Rishi Sunak says there were fears within the Trasury that the government would not be able to fund the pandemic response after a failed gilt auction a day before the first lockdown.

It meant the government was unable to borrow in the normal way, and it had to enter an overdraft faciltiy at the Bank of England.

He said: “It happened once before in the financial crisis and it unsurprisingly caused enormous anxiety inside the Treasury and with me, because it was a very worrying development.”

Economic impact of first lock down not debated 'particularly extensively’

Monday 11 December 2023 12:10 , Alex Ross

We’ve been hearing about the debate ahead of the first lockdown in March, 2020.

The former chancellor told the inquiry that the debate about the fiscal and economic implications of lockdown did not happen “particularly extensively” before the first lockdown “because everything happened very quickly and was largely being driven by public health advice”.

He added: “Over time, that debate became more a feature of the discussions, particularly because we started to have more understanding and evidence of the impact of what lockdowns were doing, or the NPIs (non-pharmaceutical interventions) were doing, in other domains or other walks of life.

“So, that that was the kind of evolution of the debate inside of government.”

He added: “Earlier on, it was certainly not a feature – I think you can just see that if you watch all the press conferences – and then when you get to the autumn, you have, I think, in the press conferences a much more open discussion about the fact that there are all these other things that policymakers have to take into account – these aren’t easy decisions, they’re balanced decisions, there are all different types of impact.”

‘Following the scientific advice’

Monday 11 December 2023 11:59 , Archie Mitchell

Rishi Sunak has said one of his key takeaways from the pandemic is that key decisions were made on poor and untimely data.

The prime minister was asked whether there was enough scrutiny of the decision to impose the first lockdown.

He said things were happening “very quickly” and the advice from Sage was “essentially just acted on”.

Inquiry counsel Hugo Keith KC said the decision to impose a lockdown was “one of the most momentous decisions in the history of this nation”.

“My suggestion to you is that debate just didn’t take place, or if it did, it didn’t take place to the degree to which it should,” Mr Keith added.

Mr Sunak said the government was “following the scientific advice that was put in front of it” about the right measures to take based on protecting the NHS.

'Not aware of complaints’

Monday 11 December 2023 11:57 , Alex Ross

Sunak is asked about evidence from others, including Sir Patrick Vallance, that Boris Johnson presided over “operational inefficiency”.

Mr Keith asked: “Were you aware that his closest advisers had seemingly unanimously taken the view that there was a lack of efficiency, that the administration was described privately as brutal and useless, or criminally incompetent or operationally chaotic? Was any of that known to you?”

The PM replied: “I don’t think any of those comments were shared with me at the time.”

He added that he thought it was “right that there was vigorous debate because these were incredibly consequential decisions for tens of millions of people in all spheres…”.

Earlier, an email from Mr Sunak’s principal private secretary after an October meeting in 2020 was read out which suggested Mr Sunak had been able to persuade Mr Johnson round to his point of view.

Mr Sunak aid there was nothing “untoward” about his chats with the prime minister and it may be that Mr Johnson was “giving me a sense of where his head was at at that particular moment in time”.

Eat Out to Help Out scheme - the numbers

Monday 11 December 2023 11:53 , Alex Ross

We haven’t got to the Eat Out to Help Out scheme yet.

It’s a project which has been blamed for more Covid deaths, and it will be interested to see how Mr Sunak’s reflects on the scheme he led.

Here’s what the scheme looked like in numbers:

Eat To Out Help Out in numbers: How much did the scheme really affect Covid cases?

Nothing defends Boris Johnson’s indecision

Monday 11 December 2023 11:37 , Archie Mitchell at the Covid-19 Inquiry

Rishi Sunak has said it is “not necessarily a bad thing” that Boris Johnson changed his mind on policies.

He has been asked about the former PM’s reputation for “oscillating” over key decisions during the pandemic, which the inquiry has repeatedly heard about.

But Mr Sunak defended his old boss, saying there is “nothing wrong” with it.

“It’s not surprising that that happens and I don’t think it is a bad thing, it shows that someone is engaging with the process and hearing from different people before getting to a final decision,” Mr Sunak said.

'My responsibility as chancellor was to make sure the prime minister knew financial impacts of lockdown’

Monday 11 December 2023 11:27 , Archie Mitchell at the Covid-19 Inquiry

The prime minister has said his “constitutional responsibility” as chancellor was to make sure Boris Johnson knew the financial impact of lockdowns.

Rishi Sunak is being grilled on whether he was arguing behind closed doors against measures to curtail the spread of Covid.

He told the inquiry that it is “not particularly controversial to say” there are impacts of lockdowns and “it was my particular responsibility to make sure the economic ones were considered”.

An article read to the inquiry includes a quote from Mr Sunak saying he was not allowed to talk about “the trade-off” in public.

‘Boris and I had informal chats'

Monday 11 December 2023 11:26 , Alex Ross

Rishi Sunak said it was a “practical reality of being neighbours and sharing a garden” that he and Boris Johnson had informal chats, but insisted all decisions were made within formal structures.

The PM told the inquiry: “If you happen to be neighbours, it’s impossible not to see each other outside of a formal CovidS meeting.

“That’s just the practical reality of being neighbours and sharing a garden, and living in the same building. So, it would be weird not to have had conversations about life, family, friends, work, at the same time.

“In terms of decision-making structures, I’m very clear that there was rigorous and proper debate and deliberation with colleagues in those structures after they were set up, and even before that more generally, and that was my consistent view throughout.”

A lack of paper trail?

Monday 11 December 2023 11:21 , Alex Ross

Now Rishi Sunak is shown a story published by The Spectator which quotes him as saying: “Everything I did was seen through the prism of: “You’re trying to be difficult, trying to be leader”.

“I’d say alot of stuff to him in private. There’s some written record of everything.”

Why was it not important to leave a paper trail, asks Hugo Keith KC.

“Of course I’d have conversations with the PM,” Mr Sunak tells the inquiry. “In terms of written records, at multiple moments I would write to him so so he could have it in one place and thoughts and analysis from me with regards to perhaps exit road maps or the two metre to one metre rule, there will be others.... there is lots of different bits of evidence which you have where I did write to him formally at particular points where I thought it made sense to lay out a set of arguments from me to him.”

First few weeks of Covid was ‘extremely difficult’

Monday 11 December 2023 11:11 , Archie Mitchell at the Covid-19 Inquiry

Rishi Sunak has brushed off Dominic Cummings’s criticism of the Cabinet Office when Covid struck as like a “gearbox with sand in it”.

The prime minister said he would not “sit here and say that people were not doing the best they could… I think they were”.

But he said the first few weeks handling the pandemic were “extremely difficult for everyone”.

Mr Sunak, who was chancellor during the pandemic, said decision-making improved when a central taskforce was set up.

‘Felt fine to me'

Monday 11 December 2023 11:09 , Alex Ross

Mr Sunak is asked about his working with No 10 and the Cabinet Office during the early weeks of the pandemic.

He responds by saying his interactions with the two “felt fine to me”. He adds he was able to input advice to Boris Johnson when decisions were made, saying he never felt “shut out”.

His recollection of the time is that there were “lots of people around the table” at the early meetings, and the government largely acted upon advice from Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) in regards to intervention.

He adds that government actions were not driven by economic advice.

‘Saw Boris more than I saw my own wife'

Monday 11 December 2023 11:03 , Alex Ross

Rishi Sunak said he saw Boris Johnson more than his wife during the pandemic.

Asked whether he had opportunities to make his views on Covid restrictions plain to the then-prime minister, former chancellor Mr Sunak said: “As a general rule, I always felt that I could.

“I mean, I saw the prime minister probably more than I saw my own wife for this period of time.

“We were working very closely together as I was with my other Cabinet colleagues, and as a general rule I was able to participate in everything that I felt I needed to in order to get the evidence, analysis, to him in a way that he could use it to make decisions.”

‘I warned Johnson about lockdown impact’

Monday 11 December 2023 10:52 , Alex Ross

Rishi Sunak said he warned Boris Johnson over the impact of the first lockdown - but said there was not a “clash” between public health and the economy in the decision-making.

He said that ministers needed to consider the “totality” of the impacts of lockdown ahead of the country going into lockdown in March, 2020.

The government, Mr Sunak said, had acted quickly upon scientific advice.

On his job as chancellor during the pandemic, he said he would advise Boris Johnson on the financial impact of decisions around Covid measures.

He said: “One of the consistent arguments I made from the beginning was making sure we collectively and the prime minister considered the totality of the impacts of the decisions that we were making,” Mr Sunak said.

He has been accused of having pushed back on restrictions to curtail infections on the grounds they would damage the economy.

Rishi Sunak: ‘I have changed my phone… WhatsApps did not come across’

Monday 11 December 2023 10:43 , Archie Mitchell

Rishi Sunak said he is “not a prolific user of WhatsApp” and blamed the changing of his phone for his inability to hand over messages to the inquiry.

He said he had changed his phone multiple times over the years since the pandemic and messages had not come across.

The inquiry’s lead counsel Hugo Keith KC pressed the prime minister on why he did not protect messages that may later become relevant to the Covid probe.

Mr Keith asked Mr Sunak if he was warned by officials about the need to protect his message history.

“I do not recall anyone in my office making that recommendation or observation to me at the time,” the PM said.

He added that his private office recorded decisions.

Starts with an apology

Monday 11 December 2023 10:38 , Archie Mitchell

Rishi Sunak has opened his Covid inquiry evidence with an apology “to all of those who lost loved ones”.

“I just wanted to start by saying how deeply sorry I am,” the prime minister said.

“I’ve thought a lot about this over the past couple of years, it’s important that we learn the lessons so that we can be better prepared in the future,” Mr Sunak said.

He promised to give evidence “in the spirit of constructive candour”.

We are under way at the Covid Inquiry this morning

Monday 11 December 2023 10:34 , Alex Ross

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is being sworn in at the inquiry in central London as he faces a day of questioning over decisions taken as chancellor during the pandemic.

In particular, he will be quizzed about the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which has been blamed for contributing to Covid deaths.

There’ll also be questions about those missing WhatsApp messages Mr Sunak blamed on a change of phone.

Eat Out to Help Out - lack of consultation with scientists

Monday 11 December 2023 10:25 , Alex Ross

It was billed as an initiative to help out the hospitality industry after the first lockdown, but it’s since been blamed for a rise of Covid deaths, as heard at the ongoing Covid-19 Inquiry.

And last week it emerged that England’s chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s former chief scientific adviser, were never told about the plan.

Mr Whitty told the hearing: “I think we should have been.”

Meanwhile, England’s former deputy chief medical officer, Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, told the inquiry that he first heard about Eat Out to Help Out on television and said the scheme “didn’t feel sensible to me”.

Mr Van-Tam added: “Had I been consulted I wouldn’t have made any distinction between Eat Out to Help Out and any other epidemiological event that brought different households into close contact with each other for the purposes of socialising, eating and consuming alcohol.

“But I would have said ‘this is exactly encouraging what we’ve been trying to suppress and get on top of in the last few months’.”

It’ll be interesting to hear what Rishi Sunak says on the consulting with scientists today.

Watch the hearing live

Monday 11 December 2023 10:17 , Alex Ross

It’s not started yet, but at 10.30am, here’s where you can watch a live streaming of Rishi Sunak’s appearance at the Covid-19 inquiry

Monday 11 December 2023 21:16 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Thank you for tuning in today. We are now pausing our liveblog.

‘We wanted 63 questions, we have been granted one'

Monday 11 December 2023 10:14 , Alex Ross

A lawyer for bereaved Covid families has said the group submitted an application to ask the prime minister 63 questions, but was granted just one.

Nicola Brook, representing the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, revealed the claim on Twitter.

Hearing begins in just over 30 minutes - what can we expect

Monday 11 December 2023 10:02 , Alex Ross

Mr Sunak will mount a robust defence of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and his wider response to the pandemic when he takes the stand this morning.

The scheme initially saw Mr Sunak, having been widely praised for the furlough scheme, dubbed “dishy Rishi”. But it has been criticised by chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty, who called it “Eat Out to Help Out...the virus”.

He will also face questions over his failure to hand over WhatsApp messages from his time as chancellor to the inquiry.

‘Dr Death’ Rishi Sunak to be grilled over Eat Out to Help out and missing WhatsApps

Protesters outside the Covid-19 Inquiry

Monday 11 December 2023 09:52 , Alex Ross

Rishi Sunak was quick to enter Dorland House ahead of his appearance at the Covid-19 Inquiry, where he will answer questions on the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and a batch of missing WhatsApp messages.

He was heckled as he entered. Here’s some pictures of the protesters stood outside. One shows a woman holding a poster appearing to say “Covid likes this” in reference to the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

The project offered diners 50 per cent off food in August 2020, and was launched following the first lockdown. But it has since been blamed for contributing to spreading the virus, and resulting in more deaths.

Eat Out to Help Out scheme a “bad idea” - say more than half of people

Monday 11 December 2023 09:46 , Alex Ross

More than half of people think the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was a “bad idea” - that’s according to a YouGov survey for the Times which has been published ahead of the PM’s appearance before the Covid inquiry.

The scheme was rolled out by then chancellor Rishi Sunak in August 2020, and offered half-price food and non-alcoholic drinks at restaurants on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

It was part of Sunak’s plan to help the hospitality industry after the first lockdown.

But it has since received criticism, including at the inquiry. Sir Patrick Vallance said it was “highly likely” to have increased Covid deaths.

The results of the YouGov poll showed 52 per cent thought the scheme was a “bad idea”, with 32 per cent saying it was a good idea.

It also found 56 per cent of people thought the government handled the pandemic “badly”. Just 29 per cent thought it was handled “well”.

Gove defends Sunak on Eat Out to Help Out

Monday 11 December 2023 09:36 , Alex Ross

Michael Gove refused to criticise any of his cabinet collegues when he appeared before the Covid Inquiry last week - and on Sunday, he continued in that vein when he defended Rishi Sunak over the Eat out to Help Out scheme.

The scheme encouraged people to eat out more in August 2020 after restaurants and pubs had reopened after the first lockdown.

But Sir Patrick Vallance, who was the chief scientific adviser at the time, has said it was “highly likely” to have increased Covid deaths.

Speaking on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Mr Gove said: “That’s Sir Patrick’s view and I have enormous respect for Sir Patrick having worked for him closely.

“However, I think it’s important to say that the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was announced a month before it was implemented. And in the period pre-announcement and post-implementation, it was not the case that there was a public critique of it.

“It was an effective way of ensuring that the hospitality industry was supported through a very difficult period and it was entirely within the broad outlines of rules about social mixing that prevailed at the time.”

‘We don’t believe you'

Monday 11 December 2023 09:20 , Alex Ross

Most voters do not believe prime minister Rishi Sunak’s claim he had not been able to provide WhatsApp messages from his time as Chancellor, according to a poll done by campaign groups 38 Degreese and Covid-19 Bedreaved Families for Justice.

The poll of 1,091 people showed 59% of people said Rishi Sunak should have been able to hand over the missing WhatsApp messages, while 52% said the government handled the pandemic badly.

It comes ahead of Sunak’s appearance at the Covid-19 Inquiry today.

Susie Flintham, spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said: “The tragic truth is based on his decision making during the pandemic, the public are right not to trust Sunak.

“The inquiry has heard that Eat Out to Help Out defied all of the scientific advice and according to Patrick Vallance was “highly likely to have increased the number of deaths”. How many people would have gone to pubs and restaurants if they had known Chris Whitty was calling the scheme “eat out to help out the virus” as we know now?”

Rishi Sunak heckled as he arrives

Monday 11 December 2023 09:19 , Alex Ross

Rishi Sunak was quick to get out of his car and walk up the steps into Dorland House.

He didn’t look toward the protesters who heckled him as he entered the building. One person shouted: “Lives are more important than money”.

Watch it here:

Rishi Sunak arrives at Dorland House for the Covid-19 Inquiry

Monday 11 December 2023 09:08 , Alex Ross

WhatsApp messages, or lack of

Monday 11 December 2023 08:55 , Alex Ross

In October, we reported how Rishi Sunak had told the Covid-19 Inquiry that he had been unable provide WhatsApp messages from his time as Chancellor because he failed to back them up.

In a witness statement, the prime minister said he did not have access because his phone changed several times, The Guardian claimed.

It comes after Boris Johnson was also quizzed over missing WhatsApp messages during his appearance before the inquest last week.

A government spokesperson said: “The prime minister and government is fully cooperating with the inquiry. We have submitted more than 55,000 documents in support of their work. We are clear that to ensure the integrity of the inquiry, evidence submitted should be heard in context and in full.”

Sunak ‘not sharing’ Covid texts ‘a disgrace direct from Boris playbook’

What was the Eat Out to Help Out scheme

Monday 11 December 2023 08:36 , Alex Ross

The Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which was launched by the government in August 2020, offered diners 50% off food and non-alcoholic drinks at restaurants and cafes across the country.

It applied from Monday to Wednesday from 3 to 31 August 2020.

The idea was to drive up businesses - restaurants, cafes, hotels and members’ clubs - which had been heavily impacted by the Covid pandemic.

Overall, £849 million was claimed under the scheme across 78,116 places, according to the government. Over 160 million individual meals were claimed with the average claim being £5.24.

And according to figures provided by booking website OpenTable, the number of diners eating out on two applicable days toward the end of the scheme was double the amount eating at the outlets in the same days the year before.

At the time, then chancellor Rishi Sunak thanked diners and restaurants for making the scheme a success.

Restaurants unsure about future as Eat Out to Help Out scheme ends today

How effective were Covid lockdowns – and should we use them if another pandemic hits?

Monday 11 December 2023 08:04 , Holly Evans

Boris Johnson has finally taken the stand at the Covid inquiry, an opportunity to defend himself against a barrage of criticism from politicians, advisers and civil servants who served with him as the pandemic engulfed the UK.

The use of lockdowns and their impact on the death toll remain fundamental questions: how effective were they in reducing the spread of the disease and if – or when – a similar pandemic hits us, what role should they play?

As a professor of infectious disease epidemiology, I spent the pandemic analysing the data on these questions.

Read more here

Were lockdowns effective and should we use them in future pandemics?

The questions Rishi Sunak will face at the Covid inquiry

Monday 11 December 2023 07:41 , Holly Evans

As if Rishi Sunak didn’t have quite enough to worry about, he will spend his entire Monday at the Covid inquiry taking questions from various barristers, including Hugo Keith KC. The prime minister obviously played a key role during the pandemic, as he was chancellor of the Exchequer for most of it.

What did Sunak do during Covid?

He was promoted from chief secretary to the Treasury to chancellor on 13 February 2020, and so was in place just as the concerns about the Covid crisis were reaching a critical point.

He won much praise for the packages of measures that the Treasury, with the Bank of England, put in place to support the economy during the emergency restrictions on economic activity; conventional borrowing limits were disregarded in what was treated as a wartime situation. For that, and his empathetic and competent manner, Sunak enjoyed a boost to his image.

Read the full article from Sean O’Grady here

The questions Rishi Sunak will face at the Covid inquiry

Rishi Sunak to face Covid Inquiry today

Monday 11 December 2023 07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Prime minister Rishi Sunak will appear before the Covid inquiry at 10am today, where he will be grilled over claims the Eat Out to Help Out scheme spread the disease.

Earlier it emerged in diary evidence from aides that Mr Sunak allegedly argued against strict lockdowns.

A diary excerpt from Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser during the pandemic, suggested that Mr Sunak was keen to let the virus run through the population.

WhatsApp messages shown to the Covid-19 Inquiry also revealed that government advisers referred to Mr Sunak as “Dr Death” during the pandemic, because of concerns about the impact of his push to keep economic activity going.

Tory peer Michelle Mone admits she was wrong to deny links to PPE firm

Monday 11 December 2023 07:00 , Athena Stavrou

Baroness Michelle Mone has conceded she made an “error” in publicly denying her links to the PPE Medpro firm being investigated by the National Crime Agency.

PPE Medpro was awarded government contracts worth more than £200m to supply personal protective equipment after she recommended it to ministers.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has since issued breach of contract proceedings over the 2020 deal on the supply of gowns.

Lady Mone told a YouTube documentary that she and her husband Doug Barrowman would be cleared, arguing they have “done nothing wrong”.

She had initially denied having any links to PPE Medpro but admits in the film: “I made an error in what I said to the press.

“I regret not saying to the press straight away, ‘Yes, I am involved.’ And the government knew I was involved.”

Sunak to be questioned on claims scientists had ‘too much power'

Monday 11 December 2023 06:10 , Athena Stavrou

Rishi Sunak is expected to be questioned about his previous claims that scientific advisers were handed too much power, and his views on the damage done by lockdowns.

In an interview during the Tory leadership contest last August, the former chancellor said the “problem” had been: “If you empower all these independent people you’re screwed.”

Mr Sunak also told The Spectator that he “wasn’t allowed to talk about the trade-offs” of Covid lockdowns – including its impact on the economy, schools and NHS waiting lists.

The Tory leader, Boris Johnson’s chancellor during the Covid crisis, is viewed as pushing against a second lockdown in the autumn of 2020, advocating for the opening up of the economy.

John Rentoul: 'Eat Out to Help Out’ was a good idea

Monday 11 December 2023 05:10 , Athena Stavrou

The Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul writes about why he believes the then chancellor had to protect public health and the economy - and why the Covid inquiry’s rewriting of history is dangerous.

Read the full article:

‘Eat Out to Help Out’ was a good idea | John Rentoul

Sunak to be grilled by lawyers bereaved families

Monday 11 December 2023 04:10 , Athena Stavrou

The prime minister will be questioned at the covid inquiry by lead counsel Hugo Keith KC in west London on Monday.

However, he will also have to face lawyers representing bereaved families from the four UK nations, long Covid groups and the Trades Union Congress.

The union’s assistant general secretary Kate Bell said: “The Prime Minister must come clean about why these decisions were taken – especially when senior government advisers were warning that people couldn’t afford to stay home when sick.

“The failure to provide proper financial support was an act of self-sabotage that left millions brutally exposed to the pandemic.”

What did Sunak do during Covid?

Monday 11 December 2023 03:10 , Athena Stavrou

Rishi Sunak was promoted from chief secretary to the Treasury to chancellor on 13 February 2020, and so was in place just as the concerns about the Covid crisis were reaching a critical point.

It has become apparent since the pandemic, especially in evidence given to the Covid inquiry, that the Treasury and Sunak put up some resistance to lockdown measures, on economic grounds.

On the other hand, they spent £800m on the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. This was seen at the time as a bold initiative to boost the hard-hit hospitality sector, but has since raised questions about it spreading the disease at a critical point.

Sunak also attended the birthday gathering for Boris Johnson, for which he was issued with a fixed penalty notice.

Michael Gove defends Eat Out to Help Out

Monday 11 December 2023 02:10 , Athena Stavrou

Cabinet minister Michael Gove defended Mr Sunak on Sunday, arguing there was no “public critique” of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme before its launch in August 2020.

Mr Gove argued the policy was announced a month before it was implemented and during this time it was “not the case that there was a public critique”.

“It was an effective way of ensuring that the hospitality industry was supported through a very difficult period, and it was entirely within the broad outlines of rules about social mixing that prevailed at the time,” he told Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme.

Watch: Boris Johnson apologises to victims during Covid inquiry

Monday 11 December 2023 01:10 , Athena Stavrou

During his testimony to the Covid-19 inquiry last week, former prime minister Boris Johnson apologised to victims.

Watch below:

Will Rishi Sunak’s covid evidence make a political difference to him?

Monday 11 December 2023 00:10 , Sean O’Grady

Given everything else that’s gone wrong more recently, probably not much.

As so often, the public will regard the furlough scheme as no more than they were due, and take the view that the government had no alternative other than to support the economy.

Sunak won’t get much thanks for the good things he did, but plenty of criticism for ideas such as Eat Out to Help Out that, in hindsight, were unwise in both economic and public health terms.

Far from “following the science”, it looks as if Sunak and the Treasury sometimes went out of their way to exclude the medical and scientific experts, and even the health secretary, from decision-making.

That doesn’t accord with what Sunak was telling people at the time, or with his “reasonable guy” image.

Did Rishi consult experts on Eat Out to Help Out?

Sunday 10 December 2023 23:10 , Athena Stavrou

There will be much focus on Eat Out to Help Out as Rishi Sunak faces the Covid-19 Inquiry tomorrow and whether the Treasury and Sunak sought any medical or scientific advice about its efficacy or prospective risks.

Chris Whitty, Jonathan Van-Tam and Patrick Vallance all say that they knew nothing about it before it was launched.

Johnson stated in his witness statement that Whitty and Vallance “were properly consulted” but under cross-examination admitted that was only his assumption.

But Professor Sir Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, is said to have privately referred to the scheme to boost the restaurant industry as “eat out to help out the virus”.

Sir Patrick Vallance, who was chief scientific adviser, said he and Sir Chris could not recall being consulted in advance about the scheme that cost hundreds of millions of pounds.

Giving evidence to Baroness Hallett’s inquiry, Sir Patrick said the scheme was “highly likely” to have fuelled deaths.

What is the Covid-19 Inquiry?

Sunday 10 December 2023 22:10 , Athena Stavrou

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is a public inquiry that has been set up to examine the UK’s response to and impact of the pandemic.

The inquiry’s terms of reference, published in June 2022, set out a series of aims including examining the public health response to the pandemic, the response of the health and care sector to the pandemic and the economic response to the pandemic including government interventions.

The inquiry is being chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, a retired judge and crossbench peer who also led the inquests into the 7 July London bombings.

Public hearings began in June 2023 and are expected to continue until 2026.

Key takeaways from Boris Johnson’s testimony

Sunday 10 December 2023 21:10 , Athena Stavrou

While the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak, is set to face the Covid-19 Inquiry on Monday, the former prime minister gave his evidence last week.

Boris Johnson delivered two days of highly-charged Covid testimony, forcing him to face up to his administration’s failings during the crisis.

He stuck to his guns on lockdowns, describing the decision to impose a national lockdown in March 2020 as “probably timely”, adding: “I do not believe it should have been made earlier.”

However, he admitted the “possibility” that earlier interventions could have been introduced.

Mr Johnson did also admit in his statement that his tiered local lockdown system was a failure and admitted to “not remember any specific consideration” being given to the question of testing hospital patients before they were discharged to care homes in March 2020.

The former prime minister did however defend the decision for him to not chair the Cobra meetings held at the start of the pandemic.

Rishi Sunak thought government should ‘let people die’, Covid inquiry told

Sunday 10 December 2023 20:10 , Athena Stavrou

Rishi Sunak is set to face the Covid inquiry tomorrow, but he has been mentioned in the hearing multiple times since it began several weeks ago.

In one of the most explosive claims heard at the inquiry so far, the now prime minister, who was chancellor at the time, allegedly believed it was time to “just let people die and that’s okay” in the autumn of 2020.

The accusation, made by former chief of staff Dominic Cummings, was documented in Sir Patrick Vallance’s diary and was heard by the inquiry on November 20.

WhatsApp messages shown to the Covid-19 Inquiry also revealed that government advisers referred to Mr Sunak as “Dr Death” during the pandemic, because of concerns about the impact of his push to keep economic activity going.

What questions could Rishi Sunak face at the inquiry?

Sunday 10 December 2023 19:10 , Athena Stavrou

The prime minister is due to face the Covid-19 Inquiry tomorrow and respond to claims that his economic policies spread the disease further.

These are some of the key questions he will most likely have to answer:

- Did he seek medical or expert advice on Eat Out to Help out?

- Why was £800m was spent on East Out to Help Out which lasted just over a month, but just £385m was spent on the self-isolation support scheme in total throughout its 18-month existence?

- Was there a trade-off between public health and the economy?

- Why wasn’t more done for those required to self-isolate under government rules?

Rishi Sunak to face claims Eat Out to Help Out scheme spread coronavirus

Sunday 10 December 2023 18:10 , Athena Stavrou

Rishi Sunak is set to face the Covid-19 inquiry on Monday and respond to claims his Eat Out to Help Out scheme spread the disease.

The prime minister was chancellor at the time of the crisis and has been referred to as “Dr Death” in Whatsapp messages seen by the inquiry between government advisers.

The plan formed part of Mr Sunak’s summer economic update in July 2020, and provided 50% off the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks.

Professor Sir Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, is said to have privately referred to the scheme to boost the restaurant industry as “eat out to help out the virus”.

Eat Out to Help Out scheme set to be scrutinised

Friday 8 December 2023 07:00 , Sam Rkaina

Prof Edmunds told the inquiry on Thursday the Dr Death reference “could well be” about the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which was devised by then-chancellor Mr Sunak and deployed a month earlier in a bid to kickstart the restaurant industry following lockdown.

The announcement that Mr Sunak will face a whole day of questioning on Monday came as former prime minister Boris Johnson began his second day of questioning.

Baroness Hallett’s inquiry has heard that scientists and then-health secretary Matt Hancock were left out of discussions around the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which offered discounted meals in summer 2020 to help the hospitality trade after lockdown measures were lifted.

Mr Hancock told the inquiry he was not told about the scheme until the day it was announced and “argued very strongly” against the possibility of extending it at the end of August 2020.

The inquiry has also heard that former Government chief scientific adviser Professor Sir Patrick Vallance, England’s chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty and their former deputies Dame Angela and Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam were also not told about the scheme.

Sunak to face Covid-19 inquiry questioning on Monday

Friday 8 December 2023 06:00 , Sam Rkaina

Rishi Sunak will be questioned about his actions during the Covid-19 pandemic when he appears before the hearing on Monday.

The Prime Minister was chancellor during the crisis and is likely to be questioned about the impact of his policies such as the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

Government advisers referred to Mr Sunak as “Dr Death” during the pandemic, WhatsApp messages shown to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry have revealed, because of concerns about the impact of his push to keep economic activity going.

The correspondence between epidemiologist Professor John Edmunds and Professor Dame Angela McLean – now chief scientific adviser to the Government – took place during a meeting in September 2020.

Dame Angela messaged Prof Edmunds, referring to “Dr Death the Chancellor”, the inquiry was told.

Boris booed - again

Friday 8 December 2023 05:00 , Sam Rkaina

Boris Johnson was jeered as he left the Covid-19 inquiry after two days of giving evidence.

Protesters outside shouted “murderer” and “shame on you” as he left Dorland House in west London to his awaiting car.

Boris Johnson appears to talk down the clock on questions about Covid’s impact on minorities

Friday 8 December 2023 04:00 , Sam Rkaina

Recap: Johnson described schools facemask policy as ‘totally f***** up’

Friday 8 December 2023 03:00 , Sam Rkaina

Boris Johnson referred to his own Government’s facemask policy as “f***** up” in the summer of 2020, the Covid-19 Inquiry has heard.

It also emerged the former prime minister would “bullshit ‘no surrender’ ideas” from his ministers and then come to regret it later.

Mr Johnson was being questioned on Thursday about his u-turn on policies around facemasks in secondary schools in August 2020.

At the time, then-education secretary Gavin Williamson had insisted measures being adopted by schools to limit the spread of coronavirus meant masks were not required.

However, the Government revised its recommendations following updated guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which said: “Children aged 12 and over should wear a mask under the same conditions as adults”.

A statement from the Department for Education on August 25 2020 said that “nationwide, while the government is not recommending face coverings are necessary, schools will have the discretion to require face coverings in communal areas if they believe that is right in their particular circumstances”.

Gasps as Boris Johnson snaps at Covid inquiry lawyer over death toll figures

Friday 8 December 2023 02:02 , Sam Rkaina

Recap: Johnson calls partygate portrayals ‘absurd’ as he finishes Covid evidence

Friday 8 December 2023 01:14 , Sam Rkaina

Boris Johnson lashed out at some of the “absolutely absurd” characterisations of the partygate debacle as he completed two days of at-times combative and emotional evidence to the Covid-19 Inquiry.

The former prime minister insisted on Thursday he was not “reconciled” to Covid deaths or believed it necessary to “let it rip” in the autumn of 2020.

On the final day of his highly-anticipated appearance, he said he was “perplexed” at claims from top scientists that ministers failed to consult them on Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

Much of the questioning on Thursday focused on the sequence of decision-making leading to the second national lockdown and later restrictions, while also touching on revelations of rule-breaking inside Number 10.

Mr Johnson appeared to become emotional during some of the discussions as he rejected suggestions he did not care about the suffering of the public and discussed his own admittance to intensive care.

It came as inquiry lead counsel Hugo Keith KC pressed Mr Johnson about the lockdown-breaching parties that were held in Downing Street and the impact on public confidence.

Boris Johnson ‘sad’ his testimony for Covid Inquiry is over as he asks for new investigation

Friday 8 December 2023 00:01 , Sam Rkaina

John Rentoul answers your burning questions as Boris Johnson is grilled at the Covid inquiry

Thursday 7 December 2023 23:12 , Sam Rkaina

The Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul explains all you need to know as Boris Johnson faces the Covid inquiry.

It comes after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced two days of questioning at the Covid inquiry - with answers that have illicited more questions from our readers.

Click here for analysis of what Mr Johnson did - and didn’t - say during his public grilling.

Watch: Johnson shown all times he said ‘let Covid rip’ in uncomfortable inquiry moment

Thursday 7 December 2023 22:00 , Tara Cobham

Johnson claims Partygate coverage is ‘million miles’ from truth

Thursday 7 December 2023 21:30 , Tara Cobham

Boris Johnson embarked on an extraordinary re-writing of history over Partygate as he gave evidence to the Covid inquiry, insisting the public’s perception of lockdown-breaching parties in Number 10 was a “million miles” from the truth.

In comments that will infuriate families bereaved during the Covid pandemic, the former prime minister said the representation of repeated gatherings during the pandemic was “absolutely absurd”.

Pressed about the saga — which sparked his eventual downfall as PM — Mr Johnson said the way Partygate has been presented was a “travesty of truth”.

Archie Mitchell reports:

Johnson: Partygate coverage is ‘million miles’ from truth

In pictures: Bereaved families protest at inquiry on second day of Johnson’s evidence

Thursday 7 December 2023 21:00 , Tara Cobham

The key Covid revelations from Boris Johnson today

Thursday 7 December 2023 20:30 , Tara Cobham

Boris Johnson fell silent for three minutes at the Covid inquiry on Thursday morning as he was confronted by all the times he talked about “letting it rip” through the population.

The former prime minister has been in largely good spirits responding to questioning from Hugo Keith KC, the probe’s lead counsel.

But Mr Johnson looked distinctly uneasy as he was shown five damning diary extracts by Sir Patrick Vallance.

Archie Mitchell reports:

From Eat Out to Help Out to ‘let it rip’: The key Covid revelations today

Johnson says it is ‘very, very important’ to get answers to how virus originated

Thursday 7 December 2023 20:00 , Tara Cobham

Boris Johnson said it is “very, very important” to get the answers to how the virus originated at the end of giving two days of evidence at the UK Covid-19 inquiry.

The former prime minister said valuable testimony had been given to the inquiry, and that he hoped it would help to bring the issues of health and social care together.

Baroness Heather Hallett, chairwoman of the inquiry, thanked Mr Johnson for his evidence, saying: “Thank you very much indeed Mr Johnson, I know how difficult it must be to have two days giving evidence.”

Mr Johnson replied: “No. I am rather sad that it’s over. I may not see you again, so I just wanted to say one thing, which is that I do think all the testimony and the evidence is incredibly valuable.”

He added: “The issues of health and social care are absolutely critical, and the government that I led was embarked on a big programme to try and bring them together. I think the fact that we had those delayed discharge patients was very, very difficult in the NHS. I hope that this inquiry will give a kick to the powers that be to make sure that we really address that.”

Making a “final point”, Mr Johnson concluded: “I know it’s outside your scope, but I do think that the British public and future governments will need to be elucidated about exactly how this thing originated.

“I don’t think the inquiry can look into it yourselves, but some sort of prod to the world to get the answer to the real origins of Covid, I think is going to be very, very important.”

Argumentative, angry and arm-waving: The old Boris Johnson was back

Thursday 7 December 2023 19:30 , Tara Cobham

Boris Johnson spent much of the day apologising again, but the one time he actually looked embarrassed was when it was revealed he told a meeting: “F*** YOU Daily Mail”. Never mind 220,000 excess deaths, what would he tell the editor of his tabloid employer?

“I am sorry to have said this about the Daily Mail,” croaked the overpaid columnist when his words appeared on the big screen. It was his umpteenth saying of sorry, but this time, as the movies say, he meant it.

You knew this was going to be a tough day for Johnson because he started being nice to “hard worker” Matt Hancock. If a drowning man clutches at Hancock, he must be desperate. The former health secretary is more of a dead weight than a lifebelt these days but, crucially for Boris’s legal case, he had backed the PM on rejecting a circuit breaker lockdown in October 2020, perhaps one of the worst blunders of the pandemic.

Read more here:

Argumentative, angry and arm-waving: The old Boris was back | Joe Murphy

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website