Sunak flounders over WhatsApps and Eat Out To Help Out at Covid inquiry
Rishi Sunak, the UK’s current prime minister, made a dog’s dinner of his evidence on his Covid-19-boosting Eat Out To Help Out initiative in his first day in the hot seat at the Covid inquiry.
He also made himself look stupid over his failure to deliver WhatsApp messages that he should have kept, in order to make them available to the inquiry.
In the light of these failings, his apology – was it an apology? Or was it just an expression of sympathy to the families of people who have died of Covid? – fell flatter than a cowpat.
The video evidence speaks for itself so I’ll just deliver what I’ve found and let you make up your own mind about it.
Here’s the apology:
Rishi Sunak, "How deeply sorry I am to all of those who lost loved ones, families members through the pandemic. And also, all those who suffered in the various different ways throughout the pandemic, as a result of the actions that were taken"
"I thought a lot about this over… pic.twitter.com/n1IlUlEOdx
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) December 11, 2023
This is what I could find about the WhatsApps:
Rishi Sunak took an oath saying he would "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth"
Minutes later he says he can't find his WhatsApps from that time
This unelected 3rd PM since 2019 thinks we're fools #CovidInquiry https://t.co/3YrlQvfbkh
— Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) December 11, 2023
Left: Rishi Sunak says he can't find his old phone/ WhatsApps even though pranksters managed to reach it
Right: Rishi Sunak said in parliament that he did not attend any Downing Street parties and then accepts that he was fined for attending Downing Street parties
How many more… pic.twitter.com/n2Ww1M9hWx
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) December 11, 2023
"I've changed my phone multiple times over the past few years and as that has happened the messages have not come across"
Rishi Sunak outlines the reason for missing WhatsApp messages after questioning from Hugo Keith KC
Follow live https://t.co/GeUggv8MDB pic.twitter.com/Uuom66GajO
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) December 11, 2023
Here’s the juice about Eat Out To Help Out:
Oh, and just for fun, here’s what Sunak had to say about lockdown:
Rishi Sunak just destroyed the foundational myth of lockdown in less than two minutes.
It wasn't the government that trolleyed around on policy in opposition to SAGE – it was SAGE that trolleyed around on its own advice in the first place! pic.twitter.com/GfRqt9tJGD
— Tom Harwood (@tomhfh) December 11, 2023
Here’s the whole hearing, if you’ve got the stomach for it:
Finally, let’s have some reaction. I apologise that this is from LBC:
For balance, here’s Phil Moorhouse and A Different Bias:
More will follow – inevitably.
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