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Covid inquiry: Boris Johnson unaware scientists not told about Eat Out to Help Out [1]
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Date: 2023-12
Boris Johnson claims he did not know scientists weren’t consulted on his government’s flagship Eat Out to Help Out Scheme.
The former prime minister wrote in his witness statement to the Covid inquiry that scientists had been consulted, and he was “perplexed” when it was put to him this was not the case.
Scientists themselves have said they were not consulted on the scheme, which partially subsidised restaurant prices during August 2020 to encourage people to spend more money in the hospitality sector.
“I didn't understand how something as well publicised as that could have been smuggled past the scientific advice,” said Johnson.
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No scientists were present at any of the meetings on Eat Out to Help Out, and the inquiry has heard that Rishi Sunak did not consult with scientists, some of whom heard about it for the first time on TV.
Johnson explained he was “surprised” at a comment from chief medical officer Chris Whitty in September where he labelled the scheme “Eat Out to Help the virus”.
“I thought: ‘Well that's funny’,” said Johnson. “I didn't remember this being something that had previously seemed to attract objection or controversy.”
But according to Johnson’s statement: “It was properly discussed, including with Chris [Whitty] and Patrick [Vallance].”
When challenged, Johnson said he wrote this because he had “presumed” they had been consulted.
Evidence from Vallance, the former chief scientific adviser, claimed Sunak, who was chancellor at the time, would have been aware of the risks of Eat Out to Help Out. Vallance also said the scheme was “highly likely to have” increased the number of Covid deaths.
Sunak has told the inquiry in his statement he does not “recall any concerns at the scheme being expressed during the ministerial discussions” while Eat Out to Help Out was running.
Research has since found a likely link between Eat Out to Help Out and the second wave of the virus in the autumn of 2020. To make matters worse, a 2021 report by the London School of Economics found the policy had only had a “limited effect” on the livelihoods of restaurants and cafes. It also found that there had been “no knock-on benefits to other businesses from people taking advantage of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme”.
Johnson said in his statement that it was “impossible to model the impact of the scheme” but that he and Sunak thought “there was a sound policy rationale” for it.
“Of course, we considered the implications for infections, but we thought that this could and would be mitigated by the social distancing requirements still in force and it was very important to balance that against damage to the economy,” he also wrote. “The scheme was decided on the basis of the balance of risk that we were willing to run during that period.”
As Johnson’s evidence got under way yesterday, four protesters were thrown out for standing up with signs that read: “The dead can’t hear your apology”, in reference to reports he was set to apologise for the pain, loss and suffering of Covid victims, which he then did do. It comes after openDemocracy spoke to three bereaved people who have been travelling hundreds of miles and spending thousands of pounds to attend the inquiry every day.
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[1] Url:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/covid-19-inquiry-boris-johnson-eat-out-to-help-out-scientists/
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