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Government to launch legal bid to stop Covid inquiry seeing Johnson WhatsApps Government to launch legal bid to stop Covid inquiry seeing Johnson WhatsApps
(about 3 hours later)
The government is to launch an unprecedented legal challenge over the Covid inquiry's demand for WhatsApp messages and documents. The UK government is to launch an unprecedented legal challenge over the Covid inquiry's demand for WhatsApp messages and documents.
Officials missed a 16:00 deadline to disclose messages between Boris Johnson and his advisers during the pandemic, as well as his diaries and notebooks. The government missed a 16:00 deadline to share Boris Johnson's messages and notebooks from during the pandemic.
It is thought to be the first time a government has taken legal action against an inquiry it has set up. It is thought to be the first time a government has taken legal action against its own public inquiry.
Mr Johnson said he was "happy" to hand over unredacted material if asked. Mr Johnson said he would be "more than happy" to give the unredacted material directly to the inquiry's chair.
In a letter to Baroness Hallett, the chair of the Covid inquiry, Mr Johnson said: "If you wish to have this material forthwith, please let me know where and how you wish me to send it to you." The Cabinet Office - the department that supports the prime minister in running the government - had until 16:00 on Thursday to hand over all documents requested by the Covid inquiry.
A mobile phone used by Mr Johnson during a crucial period in the pandemic was involved in a security breach, and has not been turned on since, according to a spokesman for the former prime minister. But the government refused to disclose some of the material by arguing it was not relevant to the inquiry, it would compromise ministers' right to privacy, and would set a precedent that could prevent ministers discussing policy matters in future.
In April 2021, over a year after the first lockdown had been introduced in the UK, it was revealed Mr Johnson's mobile number had discoverable online for over 15 years. The contents of this phone has not been seen by the Covid inquiry, the BBC has been told. Crossbench peer and retired judge Baroness Hallett, who is the inquiry's chair, says it is up to her to decide what material is relevant.
Mr Johnson has written to the Cabinet Office asking whether security and technical support can be given so that content can be retrieved without compromising security, the spokesman added. Mr Johnson has not disclosed any WhatsApp messages sent before April 2021 because his mobile phone was involved in a security breach and has not been turned on since, his spokesman said.
The government has refused to disclose some of the material, arguing it is not relevant to the inquiry's work. The former prime minister has written to the Cabinet Office asking whether security and technical support can be given so that content can be retrieved without compromising security, the spokesman added.
But the inquiry's boss says deciding what is relevant should be her job. In a highly unusual move announced after the 16:00 deadline had passed, the Cabinet Office said it would seek a judicial review of Baroness Hallett's order to release the documents.
Crossbench peer Baroness Hallett, says she needs to see the messages to see if they are relevant to the inquiry's investigation into how the government handled the pandemic. This means a judge will have to decide whether the inquiry has overreached its legal powers - setting up a potential legal showdown in court just weeks before the inquiry is due to hold its first public hearings.
The government says handing over the requested material would set a precedent that could prevent ministers discussing policy matters in future.
The Cabinet Office, which is taking the lead for the government, has said it will apply for a judicial review. This means a judge will decide whether the inquiry had overreached its legal powers to demand evidence.
Elkan Abrahamson, the lawyer representing the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said: "The Cabinet Office is showing utter disregard for the inquiry in maintaining their belief that they are the higher power and arbiter of what is relevant material and what is not.
"It raises questions about the integrity of the inquiry and how open and transparent it will be if the chair is unable to see all of the material."
Why row about Covid WhatsApp messages mattersWhy row about Covid WhatsApp messages matters
Chris Mason: The battle for truth over Covid is just startingChris Mason: The battle for truth over Covid is just starting
Opposition parties have accused Rishi Sunak's government of trying to obstruct the Covid inquiry and urged him to comply with its requests. Ministers set up the Covid inquiry in 2022 and tasked Baroness Hallett with identifying lessons from the government's handling of the pandemic.
Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, said: "These latest smoke-and-mirror tactics serve only to undermine the Covid Inquiry." Elkan Abrahamson, the lawyer representing the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said: "The Cabinet Office is showing utter disregard for the inquiry in maintaining their belief that they are the higher power and arbiter of what is relevant material and what is not.
"It raises questions about the integrity of the inquiry and how open and transparent it will be if the chair is unable to see all of the material."
Opposition parties have accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government of trying to obstruct the Covid inquiry and urged him to comply with its requests.
Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, branded the legal challenge a "desperate attempt to withhold evidence" and said "these latest smoke-and-mirror tactics serve only to undermine the Covid Inquiry".
The Liberal Democrats said the legal challenge was "a kick in the teeth for bereaved families who've already waited far too long for answers".The Liberal Democrats said the legal challenge was "a kick in the teeth for bereaved families who've already waited far too long for answers".
Some senior Conservative MPs had urged the government to back down to avoid a lengthy legal showdown with the Covid inquiry. Inquiry powers tested
Some senior Conservative MPs had urged the government to back down to avoid a lengthy legal battle with the Covid inquiry.
Science minister George Freeman defended the decision to take legal action, while conceding he personally thought a defeat in the courts was likely.
But when speaking during a visit to Moldova earlier, Mr Sunak said he was "confident" in the government's position.
Outlining its grounds for legal action, the Cabinet Office said ministers and officials "should not be required to provide material that is irrelevant to the inquiry's work".Outlining its grounds for legal action, the Cabinet Office said ministers and officials "should not be required to provide material that is irrelevant to the inquiry's work".
It said "irrelevant material" requested by the inquiry included "references to personal and family information, including illness and disciplinary matters", and "comments of a personal nature about identified or identifiable individuals which are unrelated to Covid-19".It said "irrelevant material" requested by the inquiry included "references to personal and family information, including illness and disciplinary matters", and "comments of a personal nature about identified or identifiable individuals which are unrelated to Covid-19".
The legal challenge came a day after Mr Johnson claimed he had given the Cabinet Office all the WhatsApp messages and notebooks demanded by the Covid inquiry. But the danger for the government is that it leaves them open to the charge - that Labour's already levelled - that they're trying to cover something up.
He urged the Cabinet Office to submit the material to the inquiry in full, without redactions, adding he would do so himself "if asked". The legal action will test the ability of public inquiries to get hold of messages on WhatsApp, which has become an increasingly popular means of communication between ministers in recent years.
The inquiry had requested access to WhatsApp messages from Mr Johnson's phone, covering the period 1 January, 2020 to 24 February, 2022. Baroness Hallett has previously warned that a failure to disclose material requested by the inquiry would be a criminal offence.
But the material Mr Johnson submitted did not include messages sent before May 2021. Jonathan Jones, a former head of the government's legal department, said the Cabinet Office had "a plausible case" but faced "an uphill challenge to overturn what are very wide powers of the inquiry".
This was because he had been forced to change phones after a security breach, the director of the Cabinet Office said in a statement to the inquiry. He told the BBC the matter could be settled in court "within weeks, if not sooner".
Mr Johnson changed his mobile phone in 2021 after it emerged his number had been freely available on the internet for the past 15 years.
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