Rishi Sunak was branded ‘Dr Death’ by his now-top scientist during the pandemic, Covid Inquiry hears

Rishi Sunak was labelled ‘Dr Death’ by his now-most senior scientist in a WhatsApp chat over his Eat Out to Help Out scheme during the pandemic, the Covid Inquiry was told yesterday.

Dame Angela McLean, who this year succeeded Sir Patrick Vallance as chief scientific adviser, also described a fellow expert as a ‘f***wit’ in a text exchange with Professor John Edmunds, another government adviser, in September 2020.

In one WhatsApp to Professor Edmunds, Dame Angela, then chief scientist at the Ministry of Defence, wrote: ‘Dr Death the Chancellor.’ 

Rishi Sunak was labelled ‘Dr Death’ by his now-most senior scientist in a WhatsApp chat over his Eat Out to Help Out scheme during the pandemic, the Covid Inquiry was told yesterday

Dame Angela McLean, who this year succeeded Sir Patrick Vallance as chief scientific adviser, also described a fellow expert as a ‘f***wit’

She also asked ‘who is this f***wit?’ when Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford, was contributing to a Zoom meeting with Boris Johnson and Mr Sunak.

Professor Edmunds, an infectious disease modelling expert, told the inquiry he is ‘still angry’ about then-chancellor Mr Sunak’s ‘perverse’ taxpayer-subsidised scheme to boost the hospitality industry.

The Government Office for Science was asked to comment on Dame Angela’s remarks. The inquiry continues.

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