defending his role at the inquiry which is looking at how political decisions were made. mr sunak has been accused by some of putting the economy before lives. the main criticism centres around his month long eat out to help 0ut scheme in august 2020. diners received 50% off meals out on mondays, tuesdays and wednesdays, paid for by the government. it cost the treasury £840 million. at the time, rishi sunak said it would protectjobs in the hospitality industry and boost the economy. but one analysis suggests the benefit to the industry was comparatively small compared to other measures. the scheme started in august. you can see covid was on the rise from september but we don t know for certain why. people were mixing more, with schools and workplaces reopening too. here s our health reporter, jim reed. mine too. that and the yakisoba, depends on the mood i m in. back in the summer of 2020, the then chancellor brought his flagship policy to the table. eat out to help 0ut subs
around his month long eat out to help out scheme which ran in august 2020. diners received 50% off meals at restaurants on mondays, tuesdays and wednesdays with the government subsidising the bill. here s our health reporter, jim reid. mine too. that and the yakisoba, depends on the mood i m in. back in the summer of 2020, the then chancellor brought his flagship policy to the table. eat out to help 0ut subsidised midweek meals in pubs and restaurants. it proved popular at the time. but critics say it fuelled a rise in infections. did you ignore the advice over cobit? did you ignore the advice over covid? earlier witnesses, scientists and ministers have said they were not consulted in advance about that eat 0ut consulted in advance about that eat out to help 0ut scheme. he was asked to respond. why would i raise it as a risk when i didn t believe it was because it was designed in a context of a safe reopening? the onus is surely on the people who now believed it was a r