‘Eat out to help out’ scheme added to air pollution in London, study finds

People eating at tables in London during the government’s ‘eat out to help out’ scheme. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

It is widely accepted that the UK government’s “eat out to help out” policy added to the spread of Covid-19 during the summer of 2020.

New analysis reveals that it added to air pollution, too, at a time when the public was urged to minimise air pollution to protect vulnerable people shielding or isolating with Covid.