All we learnt from Sunak at Covid Inquiry as he denies leading 'pro-death squad'
Rishi Sunak was confronted by claims he ran a "pro-death squad" Treasury and branded free school meal parents "freeloaders" during a gruelling day of evidence to the Covid Inquiry.
The Prime Minister, who prides himself on his meticulous attention to detail, rejected criticism of his pandemic record but was unable to remember key details during the six-hour grilling. He grew tetchy when questioned on the controversial Eat Out to Help Out scheme and was forced to deny making disparaging remarks about poor families.
TUC Assistant General Secretary Kate Bell said: “Rishi Sunak said under oath that it was important to learn the lessons of Covid. Yet he failed to recollect vital details of public interest on more than 20 occasions. And he refused time and again to take any responsibility for his actions. Without proper candour and accountability from our leaders, we risk making the same mistakes again.”
Here are the key moments from the Prime Minister's Covid Inquiry grilling.
Sunak 'deeply sorry' for loss and suffering during pandemic
Mr Sunak used his opening remarks to the Inquiry to apologise for the suffering endured by so many during the pandemic. Striking a similar tone to Boris Johnson, he 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".
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The Prime Minister added: "I've thought a lot about this over the past couple of years. It is important that we learn the lessons so that we can be better prepared in the future. It is in that spirit and with enormous respect for all of those who are affected that I'm here today."
But campaigners for bereaved families gave his apology short shrift. Pointing to the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, Naomi Fulop, spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said: "Sunak sacrificed our loved ones to get people spending, and ended up damaging the economy by plunging us into a second wave worse than the first."
Bereaved families gathered outside the UK Covid Inquiry as Rishi Sunak gave evidence (ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Pandemic-era WhatsApps missing
Rishi Sunak confirmed that he hadn't been able to hand over WhatsApp messages spanning the pandemic as he has changed phone several times in recent years. He conveniently forgot to back up his messages when switching handsets, meaning they weren't transferred over.
Mr Sunak told the Inquiry he was never advised to save these chats, despite key conversations being held via WhatsApp. He claimed he didn't use texts or WhatsApps much - and was often only in groups set up for specific purposes.
It comes after Boris Johnson also failed to hand over WhatsApps from the entirety of the first lockdown as he said they couldn't be retrieved from his old phone. Asked if he had the messages, Mr Sunak said: "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."
Treasury was not a 'pro-death squad'
Rishi Sunak rejected Boris Johnson's characterisation of the Treasury as a "pro-death squad" due to its resistance to lockdown measures. He told the Inquiry it was unfair to describe the department that way - and said staff worked "extremely hard" and saved people's jobs.
The nickname was revealed in an extract from Sir Patrick Vallance's diary about a No10 meeting on lifting lockdown rules in January 2021. Asked if he was aware of the moniker, Mr Sunak said: "I wasn't and I do not think it is a fair characterisation on the incredibly hardworking people that I was lucky to be supported by at the Treasury."
Dame Angela McLean, who is now the UK's Chief Scientific Adviser, referred to him as "Dr Death the Chancellor" in a WhatsApp exchange also shown to the probe.
Diary claims free school meals parents branded 'freeloaders' - but Sunak denies it
A previously unseen extract from Sir Patrick Vallance's diaries was raised with Rishi Sunak, detailing a meeting when the parents of children on free school meals were dismissed as "freeloaders".
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Hugo Keith KC raised the entry describing a meeting on June 13 2021 involving Mr Sunak and the Conservative Chief Whip, where they discussed Manchester United star Marcus Rashford's campaign to end holiday hunger. The Government initially resisted his demands but Boris Johnson was eventually shamed into U-turning twice.
According to Sir Patrick, someone at the meeting said: “Good working people pay for their children to eat and we don’t want freeloaders.” Asked he had made those comments or if anyone else did, Mr Sunak said: "I did not say those words. I don't recollect anyone saying those words."
Rajiv Menon KC, acting for a number of children's charities, also pulled Rishi Sunak up on free school meals row. He asked Mr Sunak whether ex-No10 aide Lee Cain was right to say it was a "huge blunder" to resist Rashford's campaign for so long.
Mr Sunak says he can't remember the exact discussions - or what his view was at the time. But he says he always prioritised helping the most needy and said the Government funded the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which means support is more generous than before the pandemic.
Footballer Marcus Rashford shamed the Government into acting over free school meals during the pandemic (AFP via Getty Images)Rattled PM defends 'Eat Out to Help Out'
Rishi Sunak got tetchy when asked to defend 'Eat Out to Help Out' - his half-price dining scheme in August 2020 that has been blamed for driving up infections. Several top scientists have told the probe they weren't consulted on it - and Chief Medical Office Professor Chris Whitty branded it "Eat Out to Help Out the virus".
The Prime Minister insisted it was the "right thing to do to protect" workers from the "devastating consequences" of job losses during a tense bit of questioning. "In order to safeguard the jobs of two million people working in the sector, you need people to go and use those businesses," he said.
He said Government scientists weren't consulted on the £840million discount scheme as it was a “micro policy” and said they had “ample opportunity to raise those concerns between the announcement of the scheme and its implementation”. “None of them chose to do so in any forum that they were in,” he added.
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