PM defends scheme as Tories plan to derail Rwanda legislation
Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister, is set to face an intense eight-hour questioning at the Covid inquiry today. He will vehemently defend his controversial Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which aimed to support the hospitality sector during the pandemic. However, the scheme has been criticized for causing a spike in Covid cases during the summer of 2020. Alongside this scrutiny, Sunak also faces questions about text messages where government scientists referred to him as "Dr Death, the Chancellor".
Michael Gove defends Sunak's scheme as effective
Cabinet ally Michael Gove came to Sunak's defense on Sunday, stating that the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was effective. However, England's chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, reportedly referred to the scheme as "eat out to help out the virus" in private. Former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance also stated that he and Sir Chris could not recall being consulted in advance about the multi-million pound scheme. Giving evidence to the inquiry, Sir Patrick suggested that the scheme was "highly likely" to have contributed to deaths.
Questions over Sunak's WhatsApp messages
In addition to defending the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, Sunak may also face questions about his WhatsApp messages, or lack thereof. Sunak reportedly claimed that he no longer has access to his previous messages due to changing his phone multiple times.
