Boris tells Rishi: Hand over ALL my messages to Covid inquiry
Ex-PM piles pressure on ministers to follow suit as today’s deadline looms
BORIS Johnson last night piled pressure on the Cabinet Office to ‘ urgently disclose’ his unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks to the official Covid inquiry.
The former prime minister has handed over all the material requested by probe chairman Baroness Hallett, his spokesman said, and urged that it be passed on to her.
In a swipe at the Government, Mr Johnson was said to be ‘perfectly happy for the inquiry to have access to this material in whatever form it requires’.
The Cabinet Office is refusing to provide all the former PM’s WhatsApp messages and diaries to Lady Hallett on the grounds that it would be a ‘serious intrusion of privacy’. It has said the inquiry ‘does not have the power to request unambiguously irrelevant information that is beyond the scope of this investigation’.
The inquiry has set a deadline of 4pm today to hand over Mr Johnson’s messages, notebooks and official diaries, having granted a 48-hour extension on Tuesday.
The move by Mr Johnson is likely to be seen as an attempt to put pressure on Rishi Sunak and his deputy Oliver Dowden. Mr Dowden has faced claims from Mr Johnson’s allies that he may have been involved in a decision to refer new Partygate allegations about the former PM to the police. A friend of Mr Johnson has suggested that the ‘ WhatsApps the Government really doesn’t want disclosed are Sunak’s’ – a claim dismissed by No 10.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said last night: ‘ All Boris Johnson’s material – including WhatsApps and notebooks – requested by the 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.’
The spokesman added: ‘ Mr Johnson would immediately dispressure close it directly to the inquiry if asked. While he 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… its important work.’
The decision by Mr Johnson to hand over the material will add to 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.
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 Mr Sunak – could lead to a court battle with the inquiry.
But Whitehall officials hope a compromise can be reached before the 4pm deadline to avoid the need for a damaging legal fight with the inquiry, which was set up to examine the pandemic and the Government’s response to it.
According to the notice seeking the unredacted messages, the inquiry is requesting conversations between Mr Johnson, exNo 10 adviser Henry Cook and a host of government figures, civil servants and officials.
The list includes Mr Sunak, Dominic Cummings, Matt Hancock, Sir Chris Whitty, and Sir Patrick Vallance.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said the Government intends to ‘continue to be absolutely transparent and candid’ and it had already provided ‘55,000 documents, eight witness statements and corporate witness statements’ to the inquiry.
Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office
‘Mr Johnson has co-operated in full’
spokesman Christine Jardine said: ‘Rishi Sunak must now confirm he will hand over any messages requested by the Covid inquiry. He can’t use Boris Johnson any more as an excuse to avoid handing over vital evidence.’
The stand- off comes after Mr Johnson was left furious when it emerged that the Cabinet Office had handed extracts from his prime ministerial diaries to the police without telling him.
The department referred the former PM to two forces last month over diary entries showing
he was visited by colleagues and friends at Chequers and No 10 when pandemic lockdown rules were in place.
Jeremy Quin, the Paymaster General, is also understood to have approved the handing over of documents to the Commons privileges committee, which is investigating whether Mr Johnson lied to Parliament over Partygate. Mr Johnson’s allies said he had received legal advice that none of the visits broke Covid rules. He has threatened to sue the Government.