'Dr Death the chancellor' Flaws at core of Sunak's pandemic policy account

It was the first time the Covid inquiry had heard directly from Rishi Sunak and things went immediately awry for the prime minister: his claim that no one had raised concerns about a flagship pandemic policy was immediately contradicted by the government's former chief scientist.

- Peter Walker

Monday's tussle over the "eat out to help out" scheme, in which Sir Patrick Vallance responded to an extract read out from Sunak's yet-to-be-published witness statement, was arguably more embarrassing than damaging. But with the prime minister scheduled to appear in person soon, more and more details are emerging about the role of the man referred to disparagingly by one scientific adviser as "Dr Death the chancellor".

The perils fall into two broad camps. The first is the narrative emerging from a range of evidence and testimony that Sunak's Treasury was, in the words of Boris Johnson as recorded in Vallance's diary, "the pro-death squad" - so intent on prioritising economic reopening it risked public safety. Much of this centres on "eat out to help out", an £850m scheme in summer 2020 to encourage people to go to cafes and restaurants, one the inquiry has told was imposed without consultation, leaving Vallance and others "blindsided".

The second risk is arguably even more acute: an emerging suggestion that the prime minister was not only reckless in seeking to sideline advisers but could now be trying to cover up this failure.