UK Covid-19 inquiry could prove damaging for Rishi Sunak: Report
The official Covid inquiry in the UK, after four months of hearing, has reached a week of hugely significant and potentially damning testimony, evidence that could shine a deeply unforgiving light on the inner workings of Boris Johnson’s government, according to The Guardian.
The four days of hearings, which include testimony from other close Johnson aides as well as NHS and health department chiefs, could also prove damaging for Rishi Sunak, who was chancellor at the time and intimately involved in the decisions, the report says.
There are two main political perils for Sunak: that he gets further drawn into what has already been troubling evidence about the pace at which Johnson’s government first responded to Covid; and that new revelations about parties revive public memories of the scandal, The Guardian said.
According to a report in the BBC, on October 19, the government's new chief scientific adviser described Rishi Sunak as "Dr Death, the Chancellor" in private messages sent during a crucial pandemic meeting. Prof Dame Angela McLean made the comment in a WhatsApp exchange on September 20, 2020.
A Sky News report said that WhatsApp messages between Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings and Matt Hancock revealed the 'infighting' in government at the start of the pandemic.
The chaos at the heart of the UK response to the Covid-19 pandemic was laid bare on Monday as private messages from the government’s most senior civil servant claimed Boris Johnson changed “strategic direction every day” as the crisis unfolded, said The Financial Times.
The Covid inquiry, announced by Johnson, reportedly covers decision-making during the pandemic by the UK government and in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.