Sunak tells Covid inquiry ministers were urged not to move too early on restrictions to preserve public compliance
Former chancellor says scientists warned timing and duration mattered; inquiry notes a delay in lockdown linked to higher deaths and criticizes government culture during the crisis.
LONDON — Former chancellor Rishi Sunak told the official Covid inquiry that government ministers were advised not to act too early with restrictions because of concerns the public would not comply, and that authorities needed to maintain a sense of duration around measures. Sunak, who was in charge of the UK's economic response to the pandemic, said medical experts were focused on getting the timing right as the virus spread, and that officials worried about public acceptance of social distancing rules over a sustained period.
In his testimony on Monday, Sunak described how scientific advice in February and March 2020 appeared to shift rapidly, with medical and scientific briefings changing “every couple of days.” He recalled early conversations in which advisers urged caution about imposing interventions too soon, emphasizing the need to balance public willingness to comply with the desire to curb transmission. He noted that the government initially relied on voluntary social distancing and kept schools open for a period before the guidance evolved toward closures. He cited a belief that roughly 75 percent compliance with voluntary social distancing, combined with other measures, might be sufficient to manage the outbreak, but acknowledged that outcome proved unattainable and a full, mandatory lockdown became necessary within days. He insisted that the health advice was dynamic, evolving as the situation unfolded.
Sunak also commented on the economic dimension of the crisis, saying that while it was not possible to save every job, the government’s interventions helped blunt the shock and yielded better employment outcomes than some early forecasts. He highlighted the furlough scheme — announced in March 2020 — as a central pillar of the response and said the impact on living standards, particularly for the most vulnerable, was stronger than he might have anticipated going into the crisis.
The remarks come as the Covid inquiry, chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, has highlighted the broader government response. In a separate, earlier set of conclusions, Hallett warned that delaying lockdown by a week contributed to about 23,000 additional deaths in England and criticized what she described as a toxic and chaotic culture at the heart of government during the pandemic. Sunak’s evidence adds a contemporaneous account of the decision-making process from the government’s top economic official during the early, most uncertain days of the pandemic.
Sunak, who went on to become prime minister in October 2022, served as chancellor throughout the crisis and was responsible for steering the economic response, including the furlough program that supported millions of workers. He said honesty about the trade-offs between public health measures and economic impact was important from the outset, and he asserted pride in the outcomes achieved despite the difficulties. The inquiry continues to review the sequence of events and the degree to which scientific advice shaped policy choices in early 2020.