‘WhatsApp not used for big Covid decisions’

FORMER health minister Lord Bethell has played down the role of WhatsApp messages in policy-making during the pandemic after it was reported that three groups were used to make key decisions.

He defended the government’s decision to seek a judicial review in its bid to limit disclosure of material to the Covid Inquiry, insisting “personal” information could end up being surrendered.

Lord Bethell insisted it is “plain wrong” to suggest WhatsApp had been used for major decision-making during the pandemic, claiming most of his own messages on the platform over that period had related to coffee orders.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We need these tramlines, that’s why the court case is a good idea.

“The reality is that, when you have several hundred thousand WhatsApps and you’re going through them one by one and trying to decide on the edge cases, whether or not they should be included, you end up having to surrender an enormous amount that I would typically term personal, but on a wide interpretation of the scope might be included, and therefore in order to achieve the greatest amount of candour you put in stuff that you wouldn’t reasonably be happy with.”

It comes after the Times reported that three WhatsApp groups with members including then-prime minister Boris Johnson, former health secretary Matt Hancock and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case were used for decision-making during the pandemic.

Chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty, former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Mr Johnson’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, and communications director Lee Cain were also reportedly in the groups.

A Whitehall source said: “Senior officials including the Cabinet Secretary were in the critical WhatsApp groups and their phones aren’t compromised. They can easily send the inquiry some of the most important messages.”