Rishi Sunak will be questioned about his actions during the Covid-19 pandemic when he appears before the hearing on Monday.
The Prime Minister was chancellor during the crisis and is likely to be questioned about the impact of his policies such as the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.
Government advisers referred to Mr Sunak as “Dr Death” during the pandemic, WhatsApp messages shown to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry have revealed, because of concerns about the impact of his push to keep economic activity going.
The correspondence between epidemiologist Professor John Edmunds and Professor Dame Angela McLean – now chief scientific adviser to the Government – took place during a meeting in September 2020.
Dame Angela messaged Prof Edmunds, referring to “Dr Death the Chancellor”, the inquiry was told.
Prof Edmunds told the inquiry the reference “could well be” about the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which was devised by then-chancellor Mr Sunak and deployed a month earlier in a bid to kickstart the restaurant industry following lockdown.
