Rishi Sunak has criticized the government’s response to Covid, claiming that independent scientific advisors were granted excessive influence.
Mr. Sunak, the chancellor during the epidemic, told Spectator magazine that the harmful side effects of lockdowns had not been sufficiently discussed.
He stated that he was “emotional” when he advocated keeping English schools open.
Downing Street stated that the economy and education were “important” in decision-making.
Mr. Sunak criticized campaign posters depicting Covid patients on ventilators, stating that it was “inappropriate” to “scare people.
His remarks come as the last days of the Conservative leadership contest approach, with the results expected on September 5.
The winner of the campaign, either Mr. Sunak or Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, will replace Boris Johnson as the leader and prime minister of the Conservative Party.
During the campaign, both candidates have sought to emphasize areas in which they disagreed with the incumbent government, with Ms. Truss stating her opposition to the National Insurance increase.
Mr. Sunak, who served as chancellor from February 2020 to July 2022, played a crucial role in the government’s reaction to coronavirus, including the establishment of the furlough program and the Eat Out to Help Out program.
In an interview with The Spectator, Mr. Sunak stated that he did not wish to assign blame to specific individuals, but that he believes ministers made a series of errors during the pandemic.
He asserted that ministers were not provided with sufficient information to scrutinize the report generated by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) – a group of independent experts that provides advice to the government.
He is cited as saying, “We shouldn’t have empowered the scientists to the extent that we did.”
Mr. Sunak believes governments should have discussed the “trade-offs” of lockdowns, including NHS backlogs and the effect on children’s education.
‘Big quiet’
“The script was never to recognize their existence. Oh, there is no trade-off, because doing this for our health is beneficial to the economy.
“During those discussions, I physically fought around the table. Every time it was uncomfortable.
“I was thinking, ‘Forget the economy; surely we can all agree that children not attending school is a tremendous catastrophe.'” There was a significant pause after that. It was the first time that had been said. I was very enraged.”
A little later than usual?
This is not the first time Rishi Sunak has voiced reservations regarding his own government’s response to the pandemic.
Early in the leadership campaign, he stated that he flew back from California to prevent a Covid lockdown when the Omicron variety was quickly spreading.
But in an interview with The Spectator, he condemns the entire strategy of the government he worked in, which he terms “the fear narrative.”
And the subtext is that he, and not his competitor for the Conservative leadership, posed challenging questions about the scientific advice.
Liz Truss did not have a domestic portfolio at the time and would not have attended many Covid meetings held between full cabinet meetings.
Mr. Sunak’s side insists this was not a premeditated interference in the leadership race; the Spectator merely wanted to inquire about the lockdown.
According to them, his argument was not an attempt to rehash the past.
Instead, it was to emphasize that he would govern differently, with greater responsibility and ministers receiving the necessary information.
However, a sizable portion of the Conservative members will likely share his concerns regarding school closures, the NHS backlog, and the economic impact of the epidemic, as articulated in his interview.
However, with only 10 days remaining, it may be too late for him to create a new front in the leadership struggle.
A spokesman for Downing Street stated, “Throughout the pandemic, public health, education, and the economy were crucial to the difficult decisions made on Covid limitations to safeguard the British population from a unique virus with no precedent.
To preserve public health, ministers took collective judgments based on a wide variety of professional information available at the time.
A public investigation investigating the government’s response to the pandemic will begin next year, with hearings open to the public.
A report from last year stated that the United Kingdom should have acted sooner to curb the spread of Covid earlier in the pandemic.
On Thursday evening in Norwich, Mr. Sunak and Ms. Truss are scheduled to participate in hustings for Conservative Party members.
