Sunak Defends Reopening Retailers Over Schools and ‘Eat out to Help Out’ in Covid Inquiry Testimony

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak presented witness evidence to the ongoing Covid Inquiry yesterday, defending his “Eat Out To Help Out” scheme and his decision to reopen retailers instead of schools. Mr. Sunak acknowledged his preference for reopening shops before schools following the initial Covid lockdown in response to evidence from WhatsApp conversations read out today. However, he denied advocating for the reopening of pubs and restaurants despite concerns about potential job losses associated with their closure. In a WhatsApp exchange between then Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case from Autumn 2020, Mr. Case suggested that Mr. Sunak leaned toward imposing restrictions on schools rather than non-essential shops....