Ministers given 48 hours to hand over Boris’s texts
DOWNING Street has denied accusations of a cover-up over the release of Boris Johnson’s messages to the official Covid inquiry.
Meanwhile, officials probing the response to the pandemic will avoid dealing with two controversial topics – care homes and procurement – until after the next election.
Ministers have been given two more days to hand over unredacted Covid material from WhatsApp messages, diaries and notebooks from former prime minister Mr Johnson to the inquiry after refusing to meet a deadline of 4pm yesterday.
The Cabinet Office has until 4pm tomorrow to pass on the material despite requesting an extension until Monday.
Cover-up
The inquiry warned failing to release it would be a criminal offence.
Lord Kerslake, former head of the Civil Service, said: “There’s some cover-up going on here to save embarrassment of ministers, but there’s also the Cabinet Office fighting for a principle of confidentiality.
“I have to say I think they’re misguided on this situation. I actually think it would set a helpful precedent if Lady Hallett prevailed in this fight about the information.”
Covid-19 inquiry chair Baroness Hallett has demanded a witness statement from a senior civil servant accompanied by a statement of truth confirming the documents are not held if the Cabinet Office fails to produce them by the new deadline.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “We are firmly of the view that the [Covid-19] inquiry does not have the power to request unambiguously irrelevant information that is beyond the scope of this investigation.
“This includes the WhatsApp messages of government employees which are not about work but instead are entirely personal and relate to their private lives.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman denied the allegation of a cover-up. He said: “We want to learn the lessons about the actions of the state during the pandemic.”
Rishi Sunak insisted the Government was acting “in a spirit of transparency and candour”. He added: “The Government has co-operated with the inquiry; tens of thousands of documents have been handed over.”
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said he had “no objection to disclosing the material to the inquiry”.
The former PM is among those who will give evidence to the inquiry, which is set to start hearings in two weeks.
The inquiry yesterday announced that the public evidence hearings scrutinising the Government procurement will be heard in early 2025, while the sessions for care homes are not due to take place until spring 2025.