Johnson hands WhatsApps and notebooks to Cabinet Office amid Covid inquiry row

A spokesman for Boris Johnson said all the material requested by the Covid inquiry had been handed to the Cabinet Office and should be disclosed.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson (Andrew Boyers/PA)
PA Wire
Dominic McGrath31 May 2023
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Boris Johnson has handed his unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks to the Cabinet Office, as the former prime minister called on the Government to “urgently disclose” the material to the Covid-19 inquiry.

The Cabinet Office had claimed it did not have access to Mr Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and private notebooks, which were demanded by inquiry chairwoman Baroness Hallett.

Ministers have so far objected to the release of “unambiguously irrelevant” material.

The inquiry has set a deadline of 4pm on Thursday to hand over Mr Johnson’s messages, notebooks and official diaries, having granted a 48-hour extension on Tuesday.

All Boris Johnson’s material - including WhatsApps and notebooks - requested by the Covid inquiry has been handed to the Cabinet Office in full and in unredacted form

Spokesman for Boris Johnson

A spokesman for Mr Johnson said all the material requested by the Covid inquiry had been handed to the Cabinet Office and should be disclosed to Baroness Hallett.

The Cabinet Office has now confirmed it has received the information and officials are looking at it.

Mr Johnson’s spokesperson said on Wednesday: “All Boris Johnson’s material – including WhatsApps and notebooks – requested by the Covid inquiry has been handed to the Cabinet Office in full and in unredacted form.

“Mr Johnson urges the Cabinet Office to urgently disclose it to the inquiry.

“The Cabinet Office has had access to this material for several months. Mr Johnson would immediately disclose it directly to the inquiry if asked.

“While Mr Johnson understands the Government’s position, and does not seek to contradict it, he is perfectly happy for the inquiry to have access to this material in whatever form it requires.

“Mr Johnson co-operated with the inquiry in full from the beginning of this process and continues to do so.

“Indeed, he established the inquiry. He looks forward to continuing to assist the inquiry with its important work.”

The decision by Mr Johnson to hand over the material will add to pressure on the Cabinet Office, with Downing Street already forced to deny allegations of a “cover-up” amid criticism over the public row with the inquiry.

Whitehall officials are concerned about setting a precedent by handing over all the requested documents in unredacted form, rather than deciding what material is relevant and should be submitted to the inquiry.

Refusing to comply with the request to hand over the documents – which include text conversations between Mr Johnson and a host of government figures including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – could lead to a court battle with the official inquiry.

But Whitehall officials hope that a compromise can be reached before the 4pm deadline to avoid the need for a damaging legal fight with the inquiry set up to examine the pandemic and the Government’s response.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride had earlier told Sky News “we absolutely intend to continue to be absolutely transparent and candid” and the Government had already provided “55,000 documents, eight witness statements and corporate witness statements” to the inquiry.

The inquiry is still expected to wait for the Cabinet Office response, ahead of Thursday’s deadline.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in