When Rishi Sunak appeared before the Covid inquiry yesterday morning, there was ample reason to think this would be a blockbuster moment for his premiership. The prime minister – who served as chancellor during the pandemic – is accused of prioritising the economy over saving lives, to the point that Boris Johnson labelled his Treasury the “pro-death squad”. He has faced criticism from the scientific community over his “eat out to help out” scheme, and that’s before we even get to his disappearing WhatsApp messages – with none remaining from the pandemic period.
So, it says something about the prime minister’s current predicament that his Covid evidence is probably one of his lesser problems when it comes to the week ahead. Sunak – who is often most comfortable when dealing in policy details – sat calmly throughout the session, apologising to those affected by the pandemic and defending Johnson. “In a way this is Rishi’s happy place,” says a colleague – of the forum, which allowed him to focus in an orderly way on facts and detail.
