Conservative leadership aspirant Rishi Sunak has slammed the “wrong” policies of the government during its pandemic response, including too much authority given to scientists.
The former chancellor, a known critic of economically painful lockdowns, claimed he had been in favour of keeping schools open but his “emotional” argument was met with silence when decisions were made.
Sunak, who was part of the government when the pandemic raged in the UK and the rest of the world, told the Spectator that he did not approve of campaign posters showing Covid patients on ventilators as it was wrong to “scare people” about the coronavirus.
“We shouldn't have empowered the scientists in the way we did," he said and attributed the public eagerness for lockdowns to “fear messaging”.
He is in a race with foreign secretary Liz Truss to succeed Boris Johnson as the Conservative party leader and prime minister. But he trailing his rival in opinion polls by big margins even as the Tory members are casting their ballots to choose the next leader.
Sunak said there should have been deeper discussions on the "trade-offs" of restrictions, including NHS backlogs and the impact on the education of children.
"The script was not to ever acknowledge them. The script was: oh, there's no trade-off because doing this for our health is good for the economy,” he said in an interview with the Spectator.
"Those meetings were literally me around that table, just fighting,” the Indian-origin politician said, adding, “it was incredibly uncomfortable every single time”.
"I was like, 'forget about the economy - surely we can all agree that kids not being in school is a major nightmare.' There was a big silence afterwards. It was the first time someone had said it. I was so furious," he told the magazine.
During his stint as the chancellor of the exchequer between February 2020 and July 2022, Sunak won praise for his furlough scheme to help businesses affected by the pandemic. But his decision to raise National Insurance has drawn flak.
A government spokesperson said public health, education, and the economy were central to the difficult decisions during the pandemic.
Ministers made collective decisions to protect public health, taking into account a wide range of expert advice, the spokesperson said.
Scientists were given too much power during pandemic: Rishi Sunak
It was wrong to scare people with campaign posters showing Covid patients on ventilators, says Tory leadership hopeful
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)