Health & Lifestyle

Chris Whitty rejects claims from Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson that scientists signed off on Eat Out to Help Out

Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson failed to consult the Government’s top scientists and medics on the Eat Out To Help Out scheme, Sir Professor Chris Whitty claimed today. 

Then-Chancellor, Mr Sunak, launched the flagship offer in August 2020. Brits were given discounts for dining in restaurants in a bid to kickstart the hospitality industry that suffered heavily because of lockdowns. 

But the policy was not agreed with England’s chief medical officer or No10’s ex-chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, Sir Chris told the Covid Inquiry. 

He added that neither would have agreed to the scheme, had they been informed, despite former PM Mr Johnson telling the probe it had been ‘properly discussed’. 

Sir Chris’ comments mirror claims made by Sir Patrick to the inquiry on Monday, which criticised the scheme, arguing it was ‘highly likely’ that people died because of the policy. 

The policy was not agreed with England's chief medical officer or No10's ex-chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance , Sir Professor Chris Whitty (pictured) told the Covid Inquiry. He added that neither would have agreed to the scheme, had they been informed, despite former PM Mr Johnson telling the probe it had 'been discussed'

The policy was not agreed with England’s chief medical officer or No10’s ex-chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance , Sir Professor Chris Whitty (pictured) told the Covid Inquiry. He added that neither would have agreed to the scheme, had they been informed, despite former PM Mr Johnson telling the probe it had ‘been discussed’

Then-Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, launched the flagship offer in August 2020. Brits were given discounts for dining in restaurants in a bid to kickstart the hospitality industry that suffered heavily because of lockdowns

Then-Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, launched the flagship offer in August 2020. Brits were given discounts for dining in restaurants in a bid to kickstart the hospitality industry that suffered heavily because of lockdowns

Addressing the probe on Monday, Sir Patrick, also said scientists were unaware of the Eat Out To Help Out policy until it was announced. Pictured, diners sit at tables outside a restaurant in London on August 3, 2020 as part of the scheme

Addressing the probe on Monday, Sir Patrick, also said scientists were unaware of the Eat Out To Help Out policy until it was announced. Pictured, diners sit at tables outside a restaurant in London on August 3, 2020 as part of the scheme

Responding to questioning by Hugo Keith KC, the inquiry’s chief lawyer, he said: ‘My written statement makes clear there was no consultation.’

Mr Keith countered: ‘I need to put to you that in his witness statement, Boris Johnson says “it was properly discussed, including with Chris and Patrick”, do you agree with that?’

But Sir Chris replied: ‘On this one, neither Patrick nor I can recall it and I think we would have done.’

He added: ‘I made fairly firmly to number 10, not to the Prime Minister, the view that it would have been prudent — let’s put it that way — for them to have thought about discussing it [the scheme] before it was launched.’

He acknowledged, however, that it was ‘perfectly legitimate’ for the Treasury and other government departments to come up with different schemes.

‘I was unsurprised that the Treasury and many other ministries were coming up with those schemes – it is perfectly legitimate. Number 10 held the ring’, he said. 

‘It may well be correct that the Prime Minister was under the impression we had been consulted’, he noted. 

But Mr Keith responded: ‘His [Boris Johnson’s] assertion is that it was properly discussed. Not that he was under the impression it was discussed.’

Addressing the probe on Monday, Sir Patrick, also said scientists were unaware of the Eat Out To Help Out policy until it was announced.

The inquiry was shown Mr Sunak’s witness statement, which states that he did not recall ‘any concerns about the scheme being expressed during ministerial discussions’, including those attended by Sir Patrick.

But the scientist, who headed up SAGE before standing down from his £185,000-a-year role, said: ‘We didn’t see it before it was announced and I think others in the Cabinet Office also said they didn’t see it before it was formulated as policy. So we weren’t involved in the run up to it.’

Sir Patrick added: ‘I think it would have been very obvious to anyone that this inevitably would cause an increase in transmission risk, and I think that would have been known by ministers.’

Asked whether the scheme would have fuelled Covid deaths, Sir Patrick also said: ‘It’s highly likely to have done.’

In response, No10 said on Monday it would not be drawn in on whether the Prime Minister had consulted scientists on the transmission risk of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme before announcing it.

A Downing Street official said a number of people will be setting out their views of the period, but ‘rather than respond to each one in piecemeal, it’s right that it is looked at alongside other evidence’.

But Sir Chris, who was tasked with advising ministers throughout the pandemic, also admitted to the inquiry today that the debate on herd immunity in the early days of Covid was ‘a clearly ridiculous goal of policy’.

He told the Covid inquiry that the public debate about this led to ‘considerable confusion’ where there was a ‘large amount of chatter’ by ‘people who had at best half-understood the issue’.

Former senior adviser to Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings, has repeatedly dismissed claims by former health secretary Matt Hancock and other ministers, that herd immunity was not considered during the pandemic.

Sir Patrick Vallance, No10's ex-chief scientific adviser, today said it is 'highly likely' that people died because of the policy, adding that all ministers were aware that such schemes were risky

Sir Patrick Vallance, No10’s ex-chief scientific adviser, today said it is ‘highly likely’ that people died because of the policy, adding that all ministers were aware that such schemes were risky 

Mr Cummings said ‘herd immunity by Sep’ was ‘literally the official plan in all docs/graphs/meetings until it was ditched.’

Addressing the probe today, Sir Chris also said it would have been ‘very dangerous’ to adopt such a plan.

He added: ‘I never saw anybody on the record, or anybody sensible, aiming for it [herd immunity] as a goal. I think some people tried to explain it as “this is what would happen over time”. I think, frankly, unhelpfully.

‘I definitely made communication errors through the pandemic. But my view was this scenario where communications were a long way from helpful for the public, which is really what communications should be about.

‘Because it gave an impression the government was pursuing a policy which it absolutely was not pursuing. 

‘And reasonably people were upset about that policy because it would have been the wrong policy – but it wasn’t the policy.’

Sir Chris also said it would have been ‘inconceivable’ to make herd immunity through natural infection as an actual policy goal because ‘it would have led to extraordinarily high loss of life.’

In further revelations, the inquiry also heard that Sir Chris thought measures announced by Boris Johnson on March 16, 2020 encouraging people to stay at home and start working from home where possible were not applied quickly enough. 

‘If we were to run this again — hopefully none of us ever will — we would have brought in March 16 measures several days earlier,’ he added. 

He also admitted that by the weekend before the first lockdown was implemented on March 23, 2020, the UK was already in ‘deep trouble’ and could not afford to wait to see if earlier measures would bring the R number for the rate of infection below one.

Putting in restrictions in mid-March 2020 were the ‘antithesis’ to Boris Johnson’s ‘whole philosophy’, but he made the move as he recognised how dire the situation had become, he added.

Earlier, Sir Chris also said he was not convinced that ‘all parts of the Downing Street machinery’ were ‘seized of the urgency’ of action against coronavirus in early March 2020.


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