Whitty 'wasn't told about Eat Out to Help Out scheme'

THE country’s top scientists were never told about the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, despite Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak saying they were consulted, the pandemic inquiry has been told.

In potentially damaging testimony, England’s chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty said he and Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s former chief scientific adviser, were never told about the plan, adding: “I think we should have been.”

Sir Chris said he raised objections to Number 10 about how the issue was handled, adding ‘this was aimed at the centre’.

Earlier this week, Sir Patrick told the inquiry he would be ‘very surprised’ if Rishi Sunak, then chancellor, had not learned about objections to his plan to help the hospitality industry.

In evidence submitted to the inquiry, Mr Sunak said he ‘(did) not recall any concerns about the scheme’.