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Challenge to Covid inquiry over Johnson WhatsApps in court High Court battle over Boris Johnson's Covid WhatsApps
(about 4 hours later)
The government's legal challenge to the Covid inquiry's demand to see Boris Johnson's diaries and WhatsApps in full is under way in the High Court. The government's legal challenge to the Covid inquiry's demand to see Boris Johnson's diaries and WhatsApps in full has begun in the High Court.
The Cabinet Office rejected the demand, arguing it should not have to hand over material it does not consider relevant.The Cabinet Office rejected the demand, arguing it should not have to hand over material it does not consider relevant.
Covid inquiry chair Baroness Hallett says it should be up to her decide what is relevant.Covid inquiry chair Baroness Hallett says it should be up to her decide what is relevant.
The government took the unprecedented step of bringing a judicial review of Baroness Hallett's order.The government took the unprecedented step of bringing a judicial review of Baroness Hallett's order.
It is the first time a government has mounted a legal challenge to an inquiry it set up itself.It is the first time a government has mounted a legal challenge to an inquiry it set up itself.
At a High Court hearing on Friday, the Cabinet Office's lawyers will argue that the inquiry does not have the legal power to force ministers to release documents and messages which it says are "unambiguously irrelevant" and cover matters "unconnected to the government's handling of Covid".
Covid inquiry criticises government evidenceCovid inquiry criticises government evidence
What is the UK Covid inquiry and how long will it take?What is the UK Covid inquiry and how long will it take?
They will say there are "important issues of principle at stake" affecting the rights of individuals and "the proper conduct of government". The material sought by the inquiry includes WhatsApp messages on Mr Johnson's devices from a group chat set up to discuss the pandemic response.
In written documents filed at the court, government lawyer Sir James Eadie KC said the Cabinet Office "well understands" Lady Hallett's concern to ensure she has all the material she needs to reach "soundly based conclusions on the matters she is inquiring into". It has also asked to see WhatsApp messages he exchanged with a host of politicians, including his successor Rishi Sunak, as well as various civil servants, including the UK's top civil servant Simon Case.
But he adds that there are "real concerns" that "individuals, junior officials, current and former ministers and departments should not be required to provide material that is irrelevant to the inquiry's work". At a High Court hearing on Friday, the Cabinet Office's lawyer Sir James Eadie KC said the government had brought the case with "considerable reluctance".
'All relevant material' The barrister said that the "broad" demand for evidence sought by Baroness Hallett had caught a "substantial amount of irrelevant material," including messages of a personal nature and material irrelevant to the inquiry.
"It is sharpened by the fact that irrelevant material contains '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 or that individual's role in connection with the response to it'", the statement says. This, he added, had led to a "real concern about privacy interests".
The legislation setting out the inquiry's powers to demand evidence does not provide it with "open-ended discretion," he argued.
Baroness Hallett is chairing the Covid inquiryBaroness Hallett is chairing the Covid inquiry
The messages "may well be sensitive for a whole variety of reasons - for example to do with personal privacy, to do with other aspects of the work of government, or simply to do with the informal nature of the sort of communication that occurs on WhatsApp." Representing the inquiry, Hugo Keith KC said Baroness Hallett's call for documents was "entirely regular" and fell "firmly within" its legal powers to demand evidence.
The public can be "entirely confident" that the inquiry will receive "every scrap of relevant material", adds Sir James. Opening his submissions, he said the powers allowed her to "cast her net suitably broadly" to ensure a "thorough investigation".
"Until the order is made and the material is provided, the chair cannot know what will possibly turn out to be relevant," he told the court.
Boris Johnson has handed over WhatsApp messages, diaries and personal notebooks to the Cabinet Office in unredacted form.Boris Johnson has handed over WhatsApp messages, diaries and personal notebooks to the Cabinet Office in unredacted form.
In a statement to the court, senior civil servant Ellie Nicholson said the Cabinet Office was reviewing the material "for national security sensitivities and unambiguously irrelevant material, and appropriate redactions are being applied". In a statement to the court before the hearing, senior civil servant Ellie Nicholson said the Cabinet Office was reviewing the material "for national security sensitivities and unambiguously irrelevant material, and appropriate redactions are being applied".
But the former PM's WhatsApp messages cover the period only after May 2021, meaning they would be of limited use to the inquiry, which is looking at decisions made during the pandemic.But the former PM's WhatsApp messages cover the period only after May 2021, meaning they would be of limited use to the inquiry, which is looking at decisions made during the pandemic.
This was due to a "well-publicised security breach", writes Ms Nicholson. This was due to a "well-publicised security breach", wrote Ms Nicholson.
Mr Johnson was forced to change his mobile phone in 2021 after it emerged his number had been publicly available online for 15 years.Mr Johnson was forced to change his mobile phone in 2021 after it emerged his number had been publicly available online for 15 years.
The former prime minister wrote to the inquiry after the Cabinet Office launched the judicial review, saying he was "more than happy" to hand over his unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks directly to the inquiry.The former prime minister wrote to the inquiry after the Cabinet Office launched the judicial review, saying he was "more than happy" to hand over his unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks directly to the inquiry.
He is believed to have written to the Cabinet Office to ask whether security and technical support can be given to help retrieve the content on the device without compromising security.He is believed to have written to the Cabinet Office to ask whether security and technical support can be given to help retrieve the content on the device without compromising security.
Related TopicsRelated Topics
Coronavirus public inquiryCoronavirus public inquiry
Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson
Cabinet OfficeCabinet Office