Earlier this year, the Cabinet Office attempted to obtain an exemption from disclosing information and messages that it deemed irrelevant to the inquiry’s investigation. However, Baroness Hallett dismissed this attempt.
In response, the Government initiated a legal challenge, but it was rejected by the High Court in July, affirming that the documents should be provided.
It is believed that the inquiry now possesses unredacted WhatsApp messages exchanged between Mr. Johnson and 40 colleagues, including former No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, and former chancellor Mr. Sunak.
In reaction to the report by The Guardian, Downing Street stated that it will not comment on “leaks” and expressed concern over the selective release of evidence to the media.
A Government spokesperson said, “The Government established the Covid Inquiry to transparently establish the facts, and we have submitted over 55,000 documents to support their work. To uphold the integrity of the inquiry and prevent undermining it, it is crucial that any submitted evidence is considered in its full and proper context. Therefore, we will not comment on leaks. We are concerned that selective sections of evidence have been handed to the media, and we urge precautions to prevent further leaks.”
In July, Mr. Johnson’s spokesperson confirmed that his messages had been retrieved and handed over to the inquiry.
Possible Gaps in Johnson’s Message History
However, The Guardian reported that Mr. Johnson stated in his witness statement to the inquiry that he is unable to access messages sent during the initial wave of the pandemic, from January 31 to June 7, 2020.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
