Covid inquiry: Boris Johnson called Treasury ‘the pro-death squad’
Boris Johnson referred to the Treasury under Rishi Sunak as the “pro-death squad” as he pushed for its support in easing lockdown restrictions, the Covid inquiry has been told.
Sir Patrick Vallance, who was chief scientific adviser at the time, said in his diary that the prime minister used the phrase during a meeting in January 2021 as he pushed for all lockdown restrictions to be eased by September.
Dermot Keating, counsel for the inquiry, suggested that Sunak and the Treasury were referred to “pejoratively” as “pro-death”.
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Questioning Stuart Glassborow, the former deputy principal private secretary to Johnson, Keating said: “Was HMT [the Treasury] to your knowledge, the way it was pressing
