Boris Johnson has handed over a major cache of WhatsApp messages and notebooks to the Cabinet Office, challenging it to release the documents unredacted to the Covid inquiry.
In a move that will pose a major headache for the government, Johnson suggested Whitehall officials should “urgently disclose” the contents to the public inquiry.
His provocation came as senior Conservatives urged the government to back down and avoid a protracted legal battle over the issue.
William Wragg, who chairs the Commons constitutional affairs committee, said the inquiry had “the powers and authority to request evidence it sees fit to consider”, and that the Cabinet Office should “comply with both the spirit and the letter of how the inquiry is constituted”.
Robert Buckland, a former justice secretary, instead called for a compromise “to avoid an ugly turf war”. “There needs to be disclosure with agreed redactions,” he said. “I support the government argument about the need for ministers and officials to work in a safe space but the inquiry has agreed terms of reference and is entitled to ask for material relevant to the ambit of its work.”
As the pressure mounted, Cabinet Office officials were scrambling to respond to the Covid inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, by her 4pm deadline on Thursday.
She has demanded WhatsApp messages and notebooks from Johnson and texts from one of his No 10 aides, Henry Cook.
The government has been resisting, in part because some senior figures fear more potential requests could follow concerning other ministers who are still in post.
It emerged earlier this week that the government had previously been in possession of Johnson’s documents, but after officials looked through the files and decided they were not relevant to the inquiry, the Cabinet Office said it no longer had them. (Guardian)