Scientists accuse Rishi Sunak of ‘Trump’ tactics with attack on Covid lockdown experts

Tory leadership contender accused of spouting ‘dangerous nonsense’ and attempting to rewrite history

Conservative leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak has been accused of behaving like Donald Trump following his attack on the influence of top scientists during the Covid pandemic.

The former chancellor suffered a huge backlash after he said it had been wrong to “empower” scientists during the crisis, claimed lockdown went on too long, and revealed that he fought against the closure of schools.

Mr Sunak also claimed the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) group advising Boris Johnson edited minutes to hide dissenting opinions, saying he “wasn’t allowed” to talk about lockdown’s downsides.