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Did Rishi Sunak mislead Parliament over Eat Out to Help Out? [1]

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Date: 2023-12

Rishi Sunak is facing mounting pressure over claims he misled Parliament when he said scientific advice had been taken “at all steps” in the pandemic – despite his evidence to the Covid inquiry revealing this was not true.

A shadow minister has called for the prime minister, who was chancellor at the time of the pandemic, to apologise to the house over his “not clear” statements over following the science.

Speaking in the House of Commons in March 2021, Sunak was asked by then shadow chief secretary to the treasury Bridget Phillipson whether “his refusal to follow the science by pitting public health against the economy led to worse outcomes for both”.

Sunak claimed in response: “At all steps in this crisis, we have indeed taken the advice of our scientific advisers.”

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But evidence given to the inquiry by Sunak himself, civil servants and scientists shows that scientific advice was not sought before the implementation of the controversial Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

The inquiry has heard that the policy, which partially subsidised restaurant prices during August 2020 to encourage people to spend more money in the hospitality sector, came as a surprise of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

Former government chief scientific adviser (CSA) Patrick Vallance and his former deputy (and now successor) Angela McLean, as well as former chief medical officer for England Chris Whitty and his then deputy Jonathan Van-Tam, all confirmed they had not been consulted about the policy before its announcement during their evidence to the Covid inquiry.

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[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/covid-19-inquiry-rishi-sunak-mislead-parliament-scientific-advice-eat-out-help-out/

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