LONDON

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Monday that he is "deeply sorry" to all those who lost loved ones and all those who suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Appearing for a session in a public inquiry into the government's handling of the pandemic, Sunak defended his "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme implemented in the summer of 2020.

“​​Eat Out to Help Out had been designed specifically in the context of the safe lifting of NPIs (non-pharmaceutical interventions) that had already been signed off…which had reopened hospitality, indoor hospitality,” said Sunak, who was chancellor during the pandemic.

He insisted that the scheme was a "micro plan" that was part of a much bigger opening up of society.

"This was a micro-policy to make sure that that capacity which the scientists had already said was part of an overall package which could be safely delivered was actually used. And it was done very much in that context," he added.

Announced on July 8, 2020, the scheme was one of the government's policy measures to support businesses reopening following the first COVID-19 lockdown.

The inquiry heard previously from scientists, including then UK chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance, who said: "For Rishi, it is all about personal responsibility and get the state out."

Sunak also noted that it was unfair to describe the Treasury under his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic as a "pro-death squad."

More than 232,000 people died from the coronavirus in Britain.