Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Sunak’s strange Covid Inquiry appearance

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Rishi Sunak had a strange pandemic. He spent a lot of it in government meetings, the details of which he could not recall, and with people who he always got on with. That was the overall thrust of his evidence to the Covid Inquiry today. The only phrase that came up more than a variation on ‘I do not recall the specific details’ was ‘referring to the Spectator article’ (you can re-read this now vital piece of inquiry evidence here). 

There was one thing the Prime Minister can recollect in sharp detail from his time as chancellor, though, and that’s that absolutely no one raised any concerns with him about the Eat Out to Help Out scheme between it being proposed and going live.

‘There was almost a month between announcement and commencement’, he told the inquiry. In this instance he could not recall anyone saying anything, not because he was hazy on the detail, but because – according to him – they really hadn’t said anything.

Isabel Hardman
Written by
Isabel Hardman
Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.

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