COVID inquiry: Rishi Sunak says advisers had ‘ample opportunity’ to raise concerns over Eat Out – Sunak
Medical advisers were not consulted about the Eat Out to Help Out scheme as it was deemed a “micro” policy, according to Rishi Sunak.
The prime minister is appearing before the UK’s COVID inquiry, as part of its module on governmental decision-making in the pandemic.
He is giving evidence about his time as chancellor.
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The scheme was introduced on August 3 2020 – at the end of the first COVID lockdown – to provide discounts of up to 50% off the cost of food and alcoholic drinks at relevant restaurants, cafes and pubs from Monday to Wednesday – until August 31.
In October, the inquiry heard how one scientific adviser branded Mr Sunak “Dr Death” over the scheme.
Hugo Keith KC, the counsel for the inquiry, asked Mr Sunak about the process leading to the formation of the policy.
The prime minister said it was designed in the context of indoor hospitality already being opened – which he said was already announced – and including mitigating factors like one-way systems, contactless payments and one metre distancing.
He said Eat Out was a “micro policy” that would not require extra modelling, and was about encouraging people to use restaurants that were already deemed safe.
Mr Sunak said: “It was done very much in that context and in the same way that other economic decisions like a VAT cut for hospitality or a stamp duty card or indeed furlough or anything else or grants for the hospitality industry wouldn’t ordinarily be cleared with medical advisers, nor was it because we had already made the collective decision to reopen indoor hospitality.”
The prime minister was asked why no questions about the policy were raised after it was first announced, having not consulted on it first with medical advisers.
Mr Sunak said it was the responsibility of scientific and medical advisers to raise their concerns about the policy if they had an issue with it – even if it had already been announced by the government.
Asked about the issues raised by Sir Chris Whitty, Sir Patrick Valance and others, Mr Sunak said: “The onus is surely on the people who now believe that it was a risk to have raised it at the time when something could have been done about it if they felt strongly.”
He said that other departments and the devolved administrations were not consulted on the scheme as it was market sensitive.
Mr Sunak added: “This was a very reasonable, sensible policy intervention to help safeguard those jobs in that safe reopening. That was my view.
“I didn’t believe that it was a risk. I believe it was the right thing to do.
“But if others are suggesting that they didn’t, they had ample opportunity to raise those concerns in forums where I was there, or where the Prime Minister or others were, and they didn’t.
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Key moments of Johnson’s inquiry evidence
Apology
The prime minister began his evidence by apologising.
“I just wanted to start by saying how deeply sorry I am to all of those who lost loved ones, family members, through the pandemic,” he said.
“And also all those who suffered in various different ways throughout the pandemic and as a result of the actions that were taken.”
Mr Keith and Mr Sunak spent much of the morning going through how choices were made in government.
Mr Sunak emphasised that it was Boris Johnson – as prime minister – who was ultimately responsible for making choices about the UK’s direction, and he would give input about the economy as chancellor.
Speaking about the government’s changing of course in the lead-up to the first lockdown, Mr Sunak said public health considerations were of primary concern, and that Mr Johnson acted largely on advice from SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) – which itself would change.
The-then chancellor said he did not feel shut out and had adequate access to Mr Johnson.
WhatsApp messages
At the start of his evidence, the prime minister had to defend the fact he was unable to supply any of his WhatsApp messages from the pandemic to the inquiry.
The prime minister said he had changed phones numerous times since the pandemic began, and the messages had not moved between his devices.
Mr Keith raised an article in The Spectator magazine, published last year, in which Mr Sunak was interviewed. This article suggested Mr Sunak privately lobbied Mr Johnson and tried not to “leave a paper trail”.
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Mr Sunak said he would write to Mr Johnson when necessary – and as neighbours they would regularly speak informally, for example when they were in the garden of Downing Street with their families.
He added that he saw Mr Johnson more than his wife in the early days of COVID due to the length of time spent working.
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The Ministry of Defence is being urged to reveal details of a nuclear incident that took place at Faslane naval base earlier this year.
Figures show that a Category A event occurred at HMNB Clyde between 1 January and 22 April.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) defines Category A as the most serious – however, it has claimed the incident was categorised as of “low safety significance” and did not pose a risk to the public or result in any radiological impact to the environment.
HMNB Clyde is based on the banks of Gare Loch at Faslane in Argyll and Bute.
It is the Royal Navy’s headquarters in Scotland and is home to Britain’s nuclear submarines, which includes the Vanguard vessels armed with Trident missiles.
A Vanguard nuclear submarine at HM Naval Base Clyde. Pic: PA
Nuclear Site Event Reports (NSERs) detail incidents at nuclear facilities and are classified based on their safety significance and impact.
Responding to a written question earlier this year by SNP MP Dave Doogan, Maria Eagle, minister for defence procurement and industry, confirmed dozens of incidents at Faslane and nearby RNAD Coulport – the storage and loading facility for the Trident programme.
Nuclear site events (22 April 2024 to 22 April 2025):
• Coulport: 13 Category C and 34 Category D
• Faslane: 1 Category A, 5 Category B, 29 Category C, and 71 Category D
Ms Eagle said she could not provide specific details of the Category A or B incidents “as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of any relevant forces”.
She assured Mr Doogan that “none of the events caused harm to the health of any member of staff or to any member of the public and none have resulted in any radiological impact to the environment”.
In a letter to Mr Doogan, UK Defence Secretary John Healey said: “I can confirm that all reported events were categorised as of low safety significance.
“In accordance with the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (lNES) significant safety incidents are categorised at the lowest level – level one of seven.
“Incidents that might fall into this category include equipment failures, human error, procedural failings or near misses where no harm [was] caused to the health of any member of naval base staff, any member of the public, or any resultant radiological impact to the environment.”
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In the past week, concerns have been reignited over the environmental and public health impact of the UK’s nuclear weapons programme.
It comes following an investigation by The Guardian and The Ferret, which uncovered radioactive water from RNAD Coulport had leaked into Loch Long due to faulty old pipes back in 2019.
The secrecy battle went on for six years.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) reported the discharges were “of no regulatory concern”, while the MoD said there had been “no unsafe releases of radioactive material” into the environment.
In response to the “catalogue of failures”, the SNP’s deputy leader is calling for an “urgent explanation” from the UK government as to what actually happened at Faslane.
MSP Keith Brown said: “Nuclear weapons are an ever-present danger and this new information is deeply worrying.
“With repeated reports of serious incidents at Faslane and now confirmed radioactive contamination in Loch Long, it’s clear these weapons are not only poorly maintained but are a direct threat to our environment, our communities, and our safety.
“Worse still, the Labour government is refusing to provide any details about the Category A incident.”
The MoD said it was unable to disclose the details of the incidents reported for “national security reasons”, but stressed all were categorised as of “low safety significance”.
A spokesperson for the MoD said: “We place the upmost importance on handling radioactive substances safely and securely.
“Nuclear Site Event Reports demonstrate our robust safety culture and commitment to learn from experience.
“The incidents posed no risk to the public and did not result in any radiological impact to the environment. It is factually incorrect to suggest otherwise.
“Our government backs our nuclear deterrent as the ultimate guarantor of our national security.”
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