In response to questions regarding his activities as finance minister during the global health disaster on Monday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his “deepest apologies” to individuals who lost family members during the Covid outbreak.
At the public inquiry investigating the UK’s crisis management, Sunak is anticipated to be questioned about whether his “Eat Out to Help Out” initiative, which helped the suffering hotel industry during the pandemic, contributed to the spread of Covid-19.
But he started the session by saying “how deeply sorry I am to all of those who lost loved ones, family members through the pandemic”.
He also explained that he had lost WhatsApp messages sent during the crisis as they had not transferred over to his new phones.
Boris Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, told the hearing last week that the app had “somehow” automatically erased its chat history on his phone for the first six months of 2020.
One of Sunak’s responsibilities during the pandemic, he said Hugo Keith, the lead counsel for the committee, was “making sure” Johnson understood the financial ramifications of his decision to lock down the nation as the virus spread.
He downplayed hints that Johnson’s policy changes had annoyed him, claiming that he had just responded to changing scientific advice.
Meanwhile, Sunak’s policy of paying workers affected by the epidemic less was costly by billions.
He accepted on Monday that “the impact of having to pay it back only comes well after the fact… and now everyone is grappling with the consequences”.
However, the primary focus of attention is expected to be on Sunak’s plan to get people using hospitality again in August 2020 by taking up a portion of the bill.
Concerned about the plan, one government scientific adviser, Angela McLean, called Sunak “Dr Death, the Chancellor” in a message that was previously made public to the investigation.
However, cabinet minister Michael Gove said on Sunday that “it was an effective way of ensuring that the hospitality industry was supported through a very difficult period”.
