Deadline looms in row over WhatsApp release to Covid inquiry

The authorities has until 4pm to manus implicit unredacted messages and notebooks to the Covid inquiry, oregon look imaginable ineligible action.

The enquiry wants to spot assorted messages betwixt Boris Johnson and his advisers during the pandemic, arsenic good arsenic his diaries and notebooks.

The authorities has refused to disclose immoderate of the material, arguing it is not applicable to the inquiry's work.

But the inquiry's brag says deciding what is applicable should beryllium her job.

The inquiry, acceptable up successful May 2021, is investigating the government's handling of the pandemic and is owed to statesman nationalist hearings successful 2 weeks.

The standoff could pb to a ineligible conflict betwixt the enquiry and the Cabinet Office, the authorities section that supports the premier minister.

Mr Johnson has urged the Cabinet Office to manus the worldly to the enquiry successful afloat without redactions, adding that helium would bash truthful himself "if asked".

In a connection connected Wednesday, the erstwhile premier curate said helium had present fixed the section each the documents, adding it had had "access" to the worldly for respective months.

The Cabinet Office - which had earlier told the enquiry it didn't person each the WhatsApps oregon notebooks - past said officials were assessing them.

The worldly sought by the enquiry includes WhatsApp messages connected Mr Johnson's devices from a radical chat acceptable up to sermon the pandemic response.

It has besides asked to see WhatsApp messages connected his devices helium exchanged with a big of politicians, including his successor Rishi Sunak, arsenic good arsenic assorted civilian servants, including the UK's apical civilian servant Simon Case.

It has besides asked for the erstwhile premier minister's diaries, arsenic good arsenic 24 notebooks successful which helium made contemporaneous notes.

But successful a challenge to the request, the Cabinet Office said the WhatsApp threads contained immoderate messages that are "unambiguously irrelevant" to the inquiry's remit.

It said these included treatment of "entirely separate" argumentation areas, diary arrangements unconnected to Covid, references to disciplinary matters, and "comments of a idiosyncratic nature" astir individuals.

Disclosing the messages, it added, could breach individuals' close to privateness and undermine the quality of ministers to sermon argumentation matters successful the future.

However, crossbench adjacent Baroness Hallett, who chairs the inquiry, said the accusation it had requested was "potentially relevant" to its task of investigating authorities decision-making.

Examining "superficially unrelated" governmental matters mightiness beryllium necessary, she argued, to recognize the broader discourse successful which decisions were made.

She revealed that worldly redacted, oregon blanked out, by the Cabinet Office see chats astir relations betwixt the UK and Scottish government, and the mode successful which WhatsApp itself should beryllium utilized by ministers to sermon authorities policy.

"These are matters that I and my squad are amended placed to measure than immoderate papers provider," she added.

Baroness Hallett has antecedently warned that a nonaccomplishment to disclose the worldly the enquiry has requested would beryllium a transgression offence.

The Cabinet Office has questioned whether the enquiry has the powerfulness to petition "entirely personal" WhatsApp messages, and is reportedly considering asking a justice to reappraisal whether the demands are legal.

The substance has been seen arsenic a litmus trial of the quality of nationalist inquiries to get clasp of messages connected WhatsApp, which has go an progressively fashionable means of connection wrong Westminster successful caller years.

However, immoderate elder Conservative MPs person urged the authorities to backmost down to debar a lengthy ineligible showdown.

William Wragg, president of a parliamentary committee connected law affairs, said connected Wednesday: "If the enquiry requests documents and info - past whoever it has asked should comply."

There has been friction betwixt Mr Sunak's authorities and Mr Johnson implicit the Cabinet Office's determination to refer him to police implicit further imaginable Covid regularisation breaches during the pandemic.

The Cabinet Office said it made the referral pursuing a reappraisal of his authoritative diary by authorities lawyers arsenic portion of the Covid inquiry.

The erstwhile PM has dismissed claims of immoderate breaches arsenic a "politically motivated stitch-up".