During the COVID-19 epidemic, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was quoted as stating the government should “just let people die” rather than force a second national lockdown, according to the study into how Britain handled the crisis, which concluded on Monday.
During COVID, Patrick Vallance, the government’s main scientific adviser, made a note in his diary on Oct. 25, 2020, about a meeting between then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Sunak, the finance minister.
The diary entry shown to the inquiry recorded how Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s most senior adviser during the pandemic, had relayed to Vallance what he said he had heard at the meeting.
In his diary, Vallance wrote that Cummings said: “Rishi thinks just let people die, and that’s okay. This all feels like a complete lack of leadership.”
A spokesperson for Sunak, the Chancellor, said the prime minister would explain his stance during the inquiry instead of responding to each point individually.
The inquiry is looking into how the government handled the coronavirus pandemic, which led to the closure of large parts of the economy and the death of over 220,000 people in Britain. It is expected to continue until the summer of 2026.
Top government officials have admitted that the government was not ready for the pandemic, and a “toxic” and “macho” culture hindered the response to the health crisis.
Sunak faces a risk that the inquiry’s findings could challenge his attempt to present himself as a change from the disorganized leadership of Johnson, even though he held a high-ranking position in that government.
Earlier evidence revealed that he was nicknamed “Dr. Death” by a government scientific adviser due to his “Eat Out to Help Out” policy in the summer of 2020. The policy subsidized meals in pubs and restaurants but faced criticism from health experts for spreading the virus.
