British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced questions on Monday about whether his “Eat Out to Help Out” program to help the struggling hospitality sector during the pandemic fueled the spread of Covid-19.
Sunak, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, is due to give evidence to the public inquiry into the UK government’s handling of the crisis.
In a message revealed earlier in the inquiry, a government science adviser, Angela McLean, called Sunak “Dr Death, the Chancellor” over concerns about the programme.
Sunak’s appearance follows Johnson’s criticism of the inquiry last week, as his government faces a number of challenges ahead of a general election expected next year.
His evidence will refocus attention on the economic cost of repeated Covid restrictions in the UK.
Sunak’s government-backed initiative encouraged people to visit restaurants in August 2020 by taking a piece of the bill.
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The hospitality sector was severely affected by the lockdown policies that forced it to close.
“It was an effective way of ensuring that the hospitality industry was supported at a very difficult time,” Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove said on Sunday.
He said it was “entirely within the general rules for social mixing that prevailed at the time”.
The inquiry has already heard from prominent figures, including Johnson’s controversial former aide Dominic Cummings and Patrick Vallance, who was the government’s chief scientific adviser during the pandemic.
‘exchanges’
Vallance told the inquest that Sunak’s plan was “very likely” to have caused death.
One of his journal entries recorded Cummings as saying Sunak “thinks he’s just letting people die and that’s okay.”
Sunak denied comment and emphasized that Vallance confirmed he did not hear him say it.
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According to material believed to have been shared with key participants in the investigation, Sunak told a reporter last year that he was not “authorized to talk about the trade-off” between the economic and social impacts of lockdowns and their benefits in suppressing the virus.
He also discussed the “problem” of empowering independent scientists in policy matters.
Sunak’s appearance at the inquiry comes as his government struggles to regain initiative after damaging criticism from one sacked minister and the resignation of another over a stalled immigration control policy by deporting migrants to Rwanda.
Interior Secretary Suella Braverman, who was ousted by Sunak last month, and Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick told the prime minister that his policies to stop the arrival of migrants in small boats were not tough enough, sparking fresh party rifts.
The Conservatives, in power since 2010, are currently trailing Labor, the main opposition party, in the polls.
A survey released by Ipsos last week found that 52 percent of voters now had an unfavorable view of Sunak. His approval ratings have dropped from minus nine in January to minus 28.
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The political and economic effects of the pandemic have had far-reaching consequences for the UK.
Johnson was forced to resign last year after public outrage over revelations about a series of parties that broke the Covid lockdown dubbed “Partygate”.
Sunak’s policy of subsidizing the wages of workers affected by the pandemic, meanwhile, has cost billions and badly hit the UK economy.
Almost 130,000 people have died of Covid in Britain by mid-July 2021, one of the worst official tolls per capita among Western nations.
Source: AFP