PM appears at Covid inquiry
On 11 December, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave evidence to the Covid-19 public inquiry in London.
What are public inquiries?
Public inquiries are thorough investigations into events and tragedies. They talk to people who were involved in the events and made important decisions at the time. Results are published in order to prevent mistakes from happening again and help people in charge make better plans.
What is the Covid-19 inquiry investigating?
The inquiry, which began in June 2022, was set up to examine the ways the UK responded to the Covid-19 pandemic and how this affected the country. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson (see panel above) and former health secretary Matt Hancock are among those who have already given evidence. The inquiry is split into parts, including one section on children and education, which is still to come. The inquiry is expected to go on until 2026. Protesters have gathered outside the inquiry, many of whom lost family members during the pandemic. Lawyers representing families who lost loved ones have been able to ask questions at the inquiry.
What did Sunak tell the inquiry?
Sunak gave evidence about his “Eat Out to Help
Out” scheme. Sunak came up with this when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, the politician in charge of the UK’s money. Eat Out to Help Out was paid for by the Government and allowed people to get up to 50% off the cost of meals at many restaurants and pubs during August 2020. The aim was to help businesses earn some money after they’d had to close for months during the first national lockdown. “Unless we did something, many of those jobs would have been at risk,” Sunak told the inquiry.
However some say that the scheme, which covered 160 million meals, contributed to a sharp rise in Covid infections in autumn and winter because it encouraged people to meet up and sit close together.