Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has bypassed the government's attempts to keep his unredacted WhatsApp messages secret by handing them over directly to the Covid inquiry. This move circumvents the Cabinet Office, which is pursuing legal action to withhold the messages.
Johnson stated he was 'not willing to let my material become a test case for others,' given the government's concern that handing over his files could force serving ministers to do the same. So far, only messages from spring 2021 onwards have been provided, as Johnson said security advisers told him to permanently disable a previous phone due to a security compromise. This means messages from the three national lockdowns are unavailable.
To address concerns, Johnson said he asked the Cabinet Office to help securely reactivate his old phone to search for relevant material, which he promised to pass directly to inquiry chair Heather Hallett. He also noted that about two dozen notebooks requested by Hallett had been removed by the Cabinet Office, and he asked officials to pass them to her or return them so he could do so himself.
The move undermines the Cabinet Office's legal challenge against Hallett's demand for all potentially relevant evidence. A judicial review will take place, but legal experts, including former government legal head Jonathan Jones, believe Hallett is likely to win. The government hopes the matter will be resolved in weeks, with officials requesting an expedited hearing.
Rishi Sunak and Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden reportedly signed off on the judicial review. Meanwhile, Hallett sent Johnson a list of 150 questions, including whether he said he would 'let the bodies pile high' rather than impose a second lockdown. Some senior Tories, such as Science Minister George Freeman and former Downing Street chief of staff Gavin Barwell, have expressed doubts about the legal challenge, with Barwell calling it 'a mistake to prolong this process.'
