Johnson called Treasury ‘pro death squad’ during pandemic, inquiry told

Then-PM made the joke about Rishi Sunak’s department because of its focus on lifting restrictions, according to diary entries

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Boris Johnson referred to Rishi Sunak’s Treasury as “the pro death squad” as he sought to gain support for a gradual end to Covid restrictions, the official inquiry into the pandemic has been told.

Diary entries by Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s then-chief scientific adviser, said Johnson and others inside Downing Street used language which “pejoratively termed as pro-death” Sunak’s department because of its focus on lifting Covid measures.