Thread by @nathan_oswin

Here's a running thread of all the things the current Prime Minister cannot recall whilst under oath at the Covid Inquiry.

Some more understandable than others I'd humbly suggest.

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He cannot recall any conversations between officials or between officials and himself about safeguarding WhatsApp messages post the announcement of an inquiry to be set up in May 2021.

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He cannot recall any of his office making the "observation or recommendation" to him about safeguarding messages.

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He cannot recall changing phones around that time.

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He cannot recall the "analysis that was presented" that the NHS would collapse in the run up to 23rd march 2020.

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He cannot recall if there was a "detailed debate" about whether the NHS would collapse without the lockdown interventions in march 2020.

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He cannot recall "that particular meeting" on the 23rd March 2020 when cabinet and the Prime Minister decided to mandate the national lockdown.

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He cannot "precisely" recall to what extent debates about herd immunity occupied "valuable time and bandwidth" in the first two weeks of March 2020.

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He cannot recall when precisely he spoke to the then Prime Minister about the challenges with the gilt markets.

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He cannot recall whether he "expressed a view" when he spoke to the Prime Minister about locking down London in advance of the UK wide lockdown.

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He cannot recall a "specific meeting or conversation" about whether or not locking London was advisable step to take in light of his concerns about the gilt market.

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He cannot recall when Long Covid presented itself on the Exchequer's horizon.

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He cannot "particularly" recall why or how the order in which schools and non-essential retail opened.

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He cannot recall what a reference in an email about HMT giving gold standard economic advice to the Prime Minister and Chancellor.

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He cannot recall a meeting where he had argued for a "opening up of the economy but the majority of the room had expressed its combined view that the risk of opening up too fast would have terrible consequences further down the road"

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He cannot recall a read out from a HMT official who attended SAGE which highlighted that Whitty and Vallance had said the opening measures for July was at the "riskier end of the spectrum"

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He cannot recall an email from his principal private secretary about Vallance and Whitty making clear to policy makers that June relaxation steps were "at the riskier end of the spectrum"

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He cannot recollect Matt Hancock raising concerns about Eat Out To Eat Out "causing problems in intervention areas"

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He cannot recall how SAGE phrased advice it was giving around the first lockdown.

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He cannot recollect an economic SAGE having been raised with him at any point. (To be fair on this I'm not sure there's evidence showing necessarily that it directly was but it was mentioned in email chains between some officials)

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He cannot recollect if in the meeting with Johnson, Professor Heneghan and Professor Gupta on whether he expressed any views which supported the Heneghan and Gupta position.

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He cannot recollect anybody saying about free school meals and the @MarcusRashford campaign "Good working people pay for their children to eat and don't want free loaders" which is claimed in the Vallance diaries.

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He cannot recollect any conversations about funding for social care staff to stop them working in more than one home.

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He cannot recollect whether proposals to support care staff to not work in more than one home came across his desk.

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He cannot recollect if the Welsh Government ever formally submitted to the idea of opting out of Eat Out to Help Out.

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He cannot recollect if the Welsh Government ever raised Eat out to Help Out in any format.

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He cannot recollect a letter from Nicola Sturgeon in September 2023 though it’s acknowledged he wouldn’t have seen it unless Johnson or Gove forwarded it on.

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He cannot recollect any conversations around the unequal impact of self-isolation support for those who couldn’t work from home.

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He cannot recall the decision-making around free school meals.

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He cannot recall who was initially resistant to the funding for free school meals over holidays.

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He cannot recall what his initial view on free school meals during holiday times was.

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He cannot recall at what point he funded the holiday activity and food programme.

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He cannot recall there being a direct relationship or someone quantifying a relationship between Long Covid and a rise in economic inactivity - but does accept it seems “plausible” that it could play a part

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And that's your lot - 29 things the Prime Minister couldn't recollect whilst under oath at the Covid Inquiry.

Some quipped they were surprised he could recollect what door to use when he got in the car at the end when leaving.

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