Eat Out Scheme 'Right Thing To Do', Sunak Tells Inquiry

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

- ARCHIE MITCHELL

The prime minister used an eight-hour evidence session to brush off accusations that he launched the controversial 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 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. Mr Sunak opened his evidence hearing with an apology to families bereaved during the pandemic. He proceeded to make the extraordinary claim that he had not been able to hand over his WhatsApp messages from the pandemic because he “had changed phones multiple times and the messages did not come across”.

But despite coming under intense pressure from inquiry lead counsel Hugo Keith KC, Mr Sunak came off largely unscathed from the hearing. He also pointedly refused to criticise his former boss. Mr Sunak said yesterday morning that he was “deeply sorry to all of those who lost loved ones”.

“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”.