In an interview with The Spectator about the “inside story of the lockdown”, the former chancellor attacked the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE) for having too much influence on government decision-making during the COVID crisis. He claimed he was barred from discussing the negative side effects of the draconian restrictions the nation was experiencing, such as the NHS backlog and exam chaos, and that the minutes of SAGE meetings were often edited out by dissenting voices. And he said decisions during the pandemic were usually made after ministers were presented with grim scientific analysis indicating dire “scenarios” that would happen if lockdowns were not imposed or extended, but it was not clear “how these very important scenarios were calculated”. . Politics Hub: Minister throws cold water on cost of living assistance proposal In the article, Mr Sunak said: “We didn’t talk about lost at all [doctor’s] appointment or the building backlog in the NHS in a massive way. That was never part of it. “Whoever wrote the minutes for the SAGE meetings – condensing their discussions into guidance for the government – would set the nation’s policy. No one, not even cabinet members, would know how those decisions were made.” The Tory leadership candidate suggested No 10’s reluctance to present its policies as “following the science” meant SAGE was given too much power to make decisions and that this was wrong. “We should not have empowered the scientists the way we did,” he said. “And you have to recognize the trade-offs from the start. If we had done all of that, we could be in a very different place. We probably would have made different decisions about things like schools.” But former director of communications at Number 10 during the pandemic, Lee Kane, said Mr Sunak was “simply wrong”. He tweeted that it would be “morally irresponsible” not to implement a lockdown in spring 2020, as the virus “would have killed tens of thousands of people who survived COVID” and the NHS would have been overwhelmed, leading to “an even greater backlog of excess deaths » from missed appointments. Image: File photo dated 15/05/20 of a jogger running past a social distancing sign in Hyde Park in London during the lockdown It comes as thousands of teenagers across the country are set to receive their GSCE results on Thursday, after having their education interrupted for the past two years. Mr Sunak claims at times he became “very emotional” about the impact of school closures – but that his concerns were met with silence from colleagues. Read more: What have Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss promised for the country? Rishi Sunak hints he won’t take Cabinet post if Liz Truss wins leadership race He claimed he was “not allowed to talk about” his fears in public and ministers were briefed on how to handle questions about the socio-economic impact of the lockdown. He said: “The script was to never recognize them. The script was: oh, there’s no compromise, because doing this for our health is good for the economy.” Click to subscribe to Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts Mr Sunak, who resigned from Boris Johnson’s government last month, said he did not resign over his differences during the pandemic as it would not have been “responsible” given the crisis the nation faced. He said it was opening now, not just because of the Tory leadership race, but because lessons needed to be learned about “how important questions about the negative impact of the lockdown were never properly explored”. He said the public was afraid of scientists and the government “helped shape that: with the fear mongering”. Mr Sunak had previously claimed he returned from the US early to stop another lockdown being imposed when the Omicron variant spread last winter. With just two weeks to go until the election of a new prime minister, he is seeking to make up ground with his rival Liz Truss, who is trailing in the polls. His interview comes after the foreign secretary’s allies attacked him for adopting a “scorched earth” policy that risks destroying the Conservative Party after he refused to say whether he would vote for its tax cuts, according to a report in The Times. A No 10 spokesman defended the government’s record on the pandemic. They said: “Throughout the pandemic, public health, education and the economy have been central to the difficult decisions taken on COVID restrictions to protect the British public from an unprecedented new virus. “At each point, ministers made collective decisions that took into account a wide range of expert advice available at the time to protect public health. “The UK Government has spent over £400 billion to support people, families and their livelihoods throughout our response to the pandemic, which has included the fastest life-saving vaccine in Europe.”
