On Monday, the Covid inquiry will examine Rishi Sunak’s “eat out to help out” program, with the prime minister facing the committee as he deals with growing criticism from members of his own party.
Sunak is likely to be asked if he believes that scientists had too much authority and if enough thought was given to the financial consequences of lockdown measures.
He will attend the Covid inquiry in west London while also facing pressure from Conservative members of Parliament before an important vote on his legislation regarding Rwanda on Tuesday.
Prominent members of the Conservative party cautioned Sunak that his immediate strategy would not pass as legislation in its present state.
On Sunday, the Liberal Tories confirmed that although they support the Prime Minister against the party’s right, they still have “serious concerns” about the plan and would need more reassurances.
Before facing his most important challenge as prime minister in the House of Commons, Sunak will be questioned about his management of the COVID-19 crisis while serving as chancellor.
New information has come to light stating that government scientists nicknamed him “Dr Death” due to their worries about his efforts to maintain economic activity while in charge of the Treasury during the pandemic.
During his testimony, Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s top scientific adviser during the pandemic, stated that he would find it unlikely if Sunak was not aware of the concerns raised about his proposal to support the hospitality sector.
Sunak wrote to the inquiry stating that he did not remember any discussions about potential issues with the program during meetings with other government officials, even though there were worries about the discount scheme potentially contributing to the spread of the virus.
According to reports, Sir Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, allegedly referred to the program aimed at supporting the restaurant industry as “eat out to help out the virus” in private.
Gove supported Sunak’s actions over the weekend, stating that there was no prior criticism of the eat out to help out program before it was implemented in August 2020.
The levelling up secretary stated on Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme that it was a successful method of providing support for the struggling hospitality industry during a challenging time. They also mentioned that it complied with the guidelines for social interactions that were in place at the time.
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On July 8, 2020, Sunak’s summer economic update included a plan to offer a 50% discount on the price of food and/or non-alcoholic beverages.
The ex-deputy chief medical officer, Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, expressed that the plan did not seem logical as it was promoting the very thing that officials had been trying to prevent in the previous months.
Sunak is likely to face questioning regarding his statement that he was unable to send WhatsApp messages during a critical time due to changing phones multiple times and not having the messages backed up.
There are now reports that mischievous individuals managed to get ahold of a long-standing phone number for Sunak. When dialed, the number would ring and then play a voicemail message.
There are currently inquiries into whether Sunak has provided access to relevant material associated with the mentioned number.
Source: theguardian.com
