Boris Johnson accuses government of 'frustrating' Covid Inquiry over WhatsApps
Boris Johnson has launched a blistering attack on the Cabinet Office for refusing to give his WhatsApp messages to the Covid Inquiry.
The ex-Prime Minister waged war on the Government department by accusing officials of “frustrating” the probe led by Baroness Heather Hallett.
In his first intervention since dramatically quitting as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip on Friday, the shamed former Premier fired a broadside at Whitehall in its ongoing standoff with the peer over WhatsApp texts sent and received by top ministers and officials at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said it had warned him against handing his messages to the Inquiry - and ordered him not to disclose his notebooks.
It comes after the Government launched a judicial review into Baroness Hallett’s direction that unredacted material should be surrendered to her probe.
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"The Cabinet Office has blocked me from directly sharing unredacted material with the Inquiry despite my repeated attempts to do so," Mr Johnson told The Times.
"The Government wants the whole matter to be decided by the courts, even though government ministers are on record saying that litigation is pointless because the Government will not win.
Baroness Heather Hallett chairs the Covid Inquiry (PA)"The Cabinet Office's foot-dragging approach to the inquiry is costing public time and money.
“The Inquiry's work is crucial.
“We must explore what happened during Covid ... and the Government's position is now, in my view, frustrating the Inquiry's work."
Baroness Hallett is due to hold her first public evidence session tomorrow.
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Her probe has been split into three modules and is due to report in 2026 - though many fear it will take much longer.
The row over what material she should see has hampered the start of the investigation.
Judges are set to rule on whether the Government can redact messages, but insiders admit the Cabinet Office is likely to lose its fight to block release of the uncensored text and notebooks.
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The case, which many legal experts believe is futile, is set to cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds.
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