Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was no “conclusive” evidence that a UK government program to encourage Britons back into restaurants and bars after the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020 helped spread the virus again, as he strongly defended his leadership during the pandemic following widespread criticism.
Pressed on the £840 million ($1.06 billion) Eat Out to Help Out plan that subsidized meals, Johnson told the UK’s Covid-19 inquiry on Thursday he hadn’t been warned in advance that it risked accelerating the spread of the virus, but conceded the government’s scientific advisers hadn’t attended meetings planning the policy.
