Sunak accused of ‘rewriting history’ by saying No 10 ignored lockdown harms

Rishi Sunak during a Covid press conference in April 2020. He says there was a lack of frank discussion about the harms of lockdown from the start. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/AFP/Getty Images

Rishi Sunak has been accused of trying to “rewrite history” after he claimed the harms of lockdown were ignored, meaning curbs on people’s freedoms may have gone on too long and been overly strict.

The Conservative leadership hopeful was criticised for his account of the discussions at the heart of government when he was chancellor amid frantic attempts to curb the spread of the virus and avoid the NHS becoming overwhelmed.