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.
Read more:
Johnson was known as a ‘trolley’ because he would change direction
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.
A US federal judge has agreed to pause a lawsuit filed by 18 state attorneys general and the crypto lobby group DeFi Education Fund against the Securities and Exchange Commission after all parties said new SEC leadership could make the action moot.
Kentucky District Court Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove ordered a 60-day stay on the case on April 16, noting a mid-March filing from the SEC that “this case could potentially be resolved” due to a leadership transition at the regulator.
He added that the parties must file a joint status report within 30 days.
Paul Atkins, a Wall Street adviser who has held board positions with crypto advocacy groups, was sworn in as the new SEC chair earlier this month, replacing acting chair Mark Uyeda and taking over from Gary Gensler.
The 18 attorneys general, all hailing from Republican states, filed the lawsuit with the DeFi Education Fund against the securities regulator in November, alleging that the SEC exceeded its authority when targeting crypto exchanges with lawsuits, accusing the regulator and then-chair Gensler of “gross government overreach.”
The plaintiffs included attorneys general from Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming, Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, Texas, Mississippi, Ohio, Montana, Indiana, Oklahoma and Florida, among others.
“Without Congressional authorization, the SEC has sought to unilaterally wrest regulatory authority away from the States through an ongoing series of enforcement actions,” the lawsuit stated.
DeFi groups drop case against IRS over killed broker rule
Meanwhile, the DeFi Education Fund, Blockchain Association, and Texas Blockchain Council dropped their lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service on April 16.
“The parties hereby stipulate to voluntary dismissal of this action without prejudice because the case has become moot,” stated the filing.
The lawsuit, filed in December, argued that the so-called IRS DeFi broker rule went beyond the agency’s authority and was unconstitutional.
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On April 11, President Donald Trump signed a bill to revoke the rule that would have required DeFi protocols to report transactions to the IRS.
It comes as the SEC has paused or dropped several high-profile lawsuits against crypto companies this year under its new leadership.
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Panama’s capital city will accept cryptocurrency payments for taxes and municipal fees, including bus tickets and permits, Panama City mayor Mayer Mizrachi announced on April 15, joining a growing list of jurisdictions globally that have voted to accept such payments.
Panama City will begin accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Circle’s USDC (USDC), and Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin for payment once the crypto-to-fiat payment rails are established, Mizrachi posted on the X platform.
Mizrachi said previous administrations attempted to push through similar legislation but failed to overcome stipulations requiring the local government to accept funds denominated in US dollars.
In a translated statement, the Panama City mayor said that the local government partnered with a bank that will immediately convert any digital assets received into US dollars, allowing the municipality to accept crypto without introducing new legislation.
Panama City joins a growing list of global jurisdictions on the municipal and state level accepting cryptocurrency payments for taxes, exploring Bitcoin strategic reserves to protect public treasuries from inflation and passing pro-crypto policies to attract investment.
Related: New York bill proposes legalizing Bitcoin, crypto for state payments
Municipalities and states embrace digital assets
Several municipalities and territories around the globe already accept crypto for tax payments or are exploring various implementations of blockchain technology for government spending.
The US state of Colorado started accepting crypto payments for taxes in September 2022. Much like Panama City said it will do, Colorado immediately converts the crypto to fiat.
In December 2023, the city of Lugano, Switzerland, announced taxes and city fees could be paid in Bitcoin, which was one of the developments that earned it the reputation of being a globally recognized Bitcoin city.
The city council of Vancouver, Canada, passed a motion to become “Bitcoin-friendly city” in December 2024. As part of that motion, the Vancouver local government will explore integrating BTC into the financial system, including tax payments.
North Carolina lawmaker Neal Jackson introduced legislation titled “The North Carolina Digital Asset Freedom Act” on April 10. If passed, the bill will recognize cryptocurrencies as an official form of payment that can be used to pay taxes.
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As digital assets gain mainstream adoption, establishing a legal framework for stablecoins is a “good idea,” said US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
In an April 16 panel at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell commented on the evolution of the cryptocurrency industry, which has delivered a consumer use case that “could have wide appeal” following a difficult “wave of failures and frauds,” he said.
Powell delivers remarks at the Economic Club of Chicago. Source: Bloomberg Television
During crypto’s difficult years, which culminated in 2022 and 2023 with several high-profile business failures, the Fed “worked with Congress to try to get a […] legal framework for stablecoins, which would have been a nice place to start,” said Powell. “We were not successful.”
“I think that the climate is changing and you’re moving into more mainstreaming of that whole sector, so Congress is again looking […] at a legal framework for stablecoins,” he said.
“Depending on what’s in it, that’s a good idea. We need that. There isn’t one now,” said Powell.
This isn’t the first time Powell acknowledged the need for stablecoin legislation. In June 2023, the Fed boss told the House Financial Services Committee that stablecoins were “a form of money” that requires “robust” federal oversight.
Related: Stablecoins are the best way to ensure US dollar dominance — Web3 CEO
Support for stablecoin legislation is growing
The election of US President Donald Trump has ushered in a new era of pro-crypto appointments and policy shifts that could make America a digital asset superpower.
Washington’s formal embrace of cryptocurrency began earlier this year when Trump established the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, with Bo Hines as the executive director.
Hines told a digital asset summit in New York last month that a comprehensive stablecoin bill was a top priority for the current administration. After the Senate Banking Committee passed the GENIUS Act, a final stablecoin bill could arrive at the president’s desk “in the next two months,” said Hines.
Bo Hines (right) speaks of “imminent” stablecoin legislation at the Digital Asset Summit on March 18. Source: Cointelegraph
Stablecoins pegged to the US dollar are by far the most popular tokens used for remittances and cryptocurrency trading.
The combined value of all stablecoins is currently $227 billion, according to RWA.xyz. The dollar-pegged USDC (USDC) and USDt (USDT) account for more than 88% of the total market.
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