‘PM’s nickname of Dr Death is no joke – Eat Out to Help Out may have fuelled Covid’
Dr Death #DrDeath
Thanks to the Covid Inquiry, we now know the Government’s own advisers had strong reservations about the programme – and one professor referred to Rishi Sunak as ‘Dr Death’
Rishi Sunak (
Image: ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Rishi Sunak recently boasted about the success of Eat Out to Help Out, his Covid dining discount scheme as Chancellor.
But despite the Prime Minister’s pride, many believe the initiative fuelled the pandemic. Thanks to the Covid Inquiry, we now know the Government’s own advisers had strong reservations about the programme. In one message, Professor Angela McLean, now the Chief Scientific Adviser, referred to Mr Sunak as “Dr Death, the Chancellor”.
Her comments are understood to reflect concerns among the medical and scientific communities that Eat Out to Help Out would lead to more people dying from the virus. It is alleged Mr Sunak rushed through the scheme without proper consultation or any analysis on whether it would increase cases.
If so, this was a reckless act by a man who appeared more interested in chasing approving headlines than protecting people from Covid. Instead of bragging about the scheme, Mr Sunak should be thinking of those who may have lost loved ones as a result of it.
True offenders
It is not a surprise there has been a 25% increase in shoplifting in the past year. This is what happens when you have a Government which cut the number of police and community support officers. It is also a reflection of the biggest squeeze on household incomes for more than 50 years.
And it is a consequence of the Tories making shoplifting a minor offence. Rishi Sunak has branded the surge as “unacceptable” but on his watch, offenders are being spared jail because of a shortage of space. Nor does it help that Home Secretary Suella Braverman is more interested in stoking division than dealing with law and order. The Tories are failing shopkeepers, failing to keep streets safe and failing to uphold justice.
Cereal thriller
Leonard Howes puts his longevity down to eating Shredded Wheat every morning. Any other breakfast would clearly go against the grain for the 107-year-old.