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June 2 (UPI) — Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday he would provide controversial WhatsApp messages directly to a public inquiry into COVID-19 over the head of government, who is going to court to try to rule out a subpoena.
In a letter to the head of the inquiry, retired appeal court judge Baroness Heather Hallett, Johnson said he will send the message She was demanding an investigation into her administration’s handling of the pandemic — in unrevealed form.
Johnson wrote, “The government yesterday decided to take legal action. It was not my decision to do so.” “While I understand the government’s position, I do not wish to allow my content to be a test case for others to view when I am perfectly content to view it.”
However, the messages only go back to when Johnson started using a new phone in April 2021, several months ahead of the 2020 period when lockdowns and other decisions were being made. Johnson insisted that he was prepared to provide “any content” on his old phone, but due to a security breach, he had previously been advised that it could no longer be accessed “securely”. .
“Given the urgency of your request, I believe we need to examine this advice, which has come from the Security Services,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson said that his notebooks, which Hallett is also seeking, were retained by the Cabinet Office and requested that they be forwarded to the inquiry. if decided don’t do thatHe will ask them to be returned so that he can provide them directly.
Johnson’s move comes after the government launched an unprecedented legal challenge On Thursday demanded a judicial review of the order for the investigation of handing over the material in the High Court. The announcement came after a 48-hour deadline to hand over evidence in full to the Cabinet Office had gone past 4pm local time.
Hallett turned over notebooks, diaries and WhatsApp messages between Johnson and ministers and officials – unrestricted – two weeks before the inquiry officially opened on June 13, but on Tuesday granted a two-day extension.
The government’s lawyers will argue that ministers and officials “should not be required to provide material that is irrelevant for investigative work” that includes health, family, or disciplinary matters as well as material containing personal information about identified individuals not related to COVID-19.
The government is believed to be taking its own public inquiry to court, the first in the country’s 176-year history.
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