On Monday, the Covid inquiry will examine Rishi Sunak’s “eat out to help out” program, with the prime minister appearing before the committee as he deals with mounting criticism from his own MPs.
Sunak may face questioning regarding his opinion on scientists having excessive control and whether enough thought was put into the economic consequences of lockdown measures.
He is set to attend the Covid inquiry in west London while also facing pressure from Conservative backbenchers ahead of an important vote on his Rwanda legislation on Tuesday.
High-ranking members of the Conservative party cautioned Sunak that his urgent proposal would not pass as legislation in its present state.
On Sunday, the Liberal Tories announced that they still have reservations about supporting the PM against the party’s more conservative members and would need further reassurances.
Prior to Sunak’s upcoming critical challenge in the House of Commons, he will be questioned about his management of the COVID-19 crisis while serving as chancellor.
Recent communications have indicated that officials in the government referred to him as “Dr Death” due to worries about his efforts to maintain economic productivity while serving as the head of the Treasury during the COVID-19 crisis.
During his testimony, Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s main scientific advisor during the pandemic, expressed concern that Chancellor Sunak may have been aware of criticisms regarding his proposed support for the hospitality sector.
Sunak stated in a letter to the investigation that he did not remember any apprehensions being raised during government meetings about the potential risks of the discount program contributing to the spread of the virus.
However, according to sources, Sir Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer of England, has reportedly nicknamed the initiative to support the restaurant industry as “eat out to help out the virus”.
Gove stood up for Sunak during the weekend, stating that there was no prior public criticism of the eat out to help out program before it was implemented in August 2020.
The secretary in charge of levelling up stated on Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme that it was a successful method of aiding the hospitality industry during a challenging time, and it aligned with the social mixing guidelines in place at that time.
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The proposal was included in Sunak’s economic update for the summer on July 8, 2020, and offered a 50% discount on the price of food and/or non-alcoholic beverages.
The previous deputy chief medical officer, Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, stated that the plan did not seem logical as it was promoting the very behavior that officials had been trying to discourage in previous months.
Sunak is anticipated to face questions about his assertion that he was unable to send WhatsApp messages during a critical time due to switching phones multiple times without backing up the messages.
There have been recent claims that mischievous individuals were able to obtain a long-standing phone number for Sunak, which when called, played a voicemail recording.
There are now inquiries regarding whether Sunak has provided access to material related to that specific number.
Source: theguardian.com
