LONDON (Reuters) – According to the inquiry into how Britain handled the COVID-19 crisis, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was reported as suggesting that the government should prioritize letting people die instead of imposing a second lockdown. This revelation was made on Monday.
During the inquiry, it was disclosed that Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser at the time of the pandemic, made a note in his diary regarding a meeting that took place on Oct. 25, 2020. This meeting involved then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Sunak, who held the position of finance minister at the time.
Vallance’s diary entry, which was presented at the inquiry, documented how Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s most senior adviser during the pandemic, had relayed to Vallance what he claimed to have heard at the meeting.
According to Vallance’s diary, Cummings quoted Sunak as saying: “Rishi thinks just let people die and that’s okay. This all feels like a complete lack of leadership.”
A spokesman for Sunak stated that the prime minister would address his position during his testimony at the inquiry, rather than responding to each allegation individually.
The ongoing inquiry is examining the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which led to the shutdown of large segments of the economy and resulted in over 220,000 deaths in Britain. The inquiry is expected to continue until the summer of 2026.
Serious government officials have consistently stated that the government was ill-prepared for the pandemic, and that a “toxic” and “macho” culture hindered the response to the health crisis.
There is a risk for Sunak that the evidence presented at the inquiry may undermine his efforts to position himself as a departure from the chaotic leadership of Johnson, despite his senior position within that government.
Prior evidence has revealed that he was referred to as “Dr. Death” by a government scientific adviser due to his “Eat Out to Help out” policy in the summer of 2020. This policy subsidized meals in pubs and restaurants, but was criticized by health experts for potentially spreading the virus.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, editing by Elizabeth Piper and Christina Fincher)
