Reactions as Covid Inquiry can't get Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp

The government, well the Cabinet Office, is locked in a battle with the Covid inquiry to get unfettered access to the diary and whatsApp messages of former PM Boris Johnson.

What are they hiding? As each refusal makes more people wonder what they are keeping out of the public eye.

Retired senior judge Baroness Hallett is doing what she can to get all the information, to assist with their inquiry.

The deadline for the government to hand over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages to the COVID Inquiry has been extended. Inquiry chair Lady Hallett had ordered

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The government was supposed to hand over the messages – alongside diary entries and notes – by 4pm on Tuesday 30 May.

The deadline has now set been 4pm on Thursday 1 June.

Legal advice

Alex Wickham tweeted: “Bloomberg has obtained written legal advice from the government‘s top lawyer Sir James Eadie KC to the Cabinet Office It advises them NOT to hand over “politically sensitive” material about ministers’ private discussions to the Covid inquiry.”

EXCLUSIVE: Bloomberg has obtained written legal advice from the government‘s top lawyer Sir James Eadie KC to the Cabinet Office

It advises them NOT to hand over “politically sensitive” material about ministers’ private discussions to the Covid inquiryhttps://t.co/7FCiG4X7r9
— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) May 30, 2023

PM Rishi Sunak said they have given over 55,000 documents, but its not the ones they want as Lord Falconer points out.

Rishi Sunak – "The govt has handed over tens of thousands of documents… "

Lord Falconer(former Lord Chancellor) – "The govt say they've given 55,000 documents already, & people often say that when they're trying to cover stuff up… & they avoid giving the key material.." pic.twitter.com/PJCqrSZfH2
— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) May 30, 2023

Slippery

The shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting , has told Sky News the prime minister should “comply with the inquiry and do it today”.

He said: “I think the prime minister looks really slippery today. He says he wants the government to cooperate with the inquiry but the government has been withholding information the inquiry has asked for.

“One minute the government says the messages they have are immaterial; the next minute they’re saying they don’t exist. Which is it?”

Work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, defended the government saying: “So what the government is doing here is we have started this inquiry because we think it’s very important that we get to the bottom of some really important questions that many, many millions of people want to know the answers to around the Covid pandemic and our response to it.

“We’ve provided around 55,000 documents, eight witness statements and corporate witness statements, as well, to the inquiry. And we absolutely intend to continue to be absolutely transparent and candid.”

Reactions – Boris Johnson Whatsapp

Dear Cabinet Office
Our lives were in your hands.
Whatever you're hiding was a matter of life and death to us.
Some of us were lucky to survive.
Many did not.
We're entitled to know why.
Every little bit of it.
Michael Rosen
— Michael Rosen 💙💙🎓🎓 (@MichaelRosenYes) May 30, 2023

Cabinet Office: You can’t have those messages. They’re all irrelevant.

Inquiry: All?

Cabinet Office: Yeah, unambiguously

Inquiry: Let’s see them then. Nothing to hide then.

Cabinet Office: No

Inquiry: I order you

Cabinet Office: Can’t. Don’t have them. Never even seen them
— Mike Galsworthy (@mikegalsworthy) May 30, 2023

https://twitter.com/emmagafielding/status/1663509414630895616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1663509414630895616%7Ctwgr%5Eac4e83d4d7e52ce53d18b895c4c65eddac11a126%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thepoke.co.uk%2F2023%2F05%2F31%2Fcovid-inquiry-cabinet-office-deadlock-over-johnsons-whatsapp-messages%2F2%2F

Thing is, if these messages were as Cabinet Office claims, undeniably irrelevant, they would have *no need* to take drastic steps to deny them. The inquiry would simply ignore anything irrelevant.
Conclusion: Johnson and Simon Case are condemned by them. https://t.co/dzs4gixInk
— Mike Holden (@MikeHolden42) May 30, 2023

Boris Johnson's current argument isn't that he's innocent but:

💩 Nasty people dobbed him in

💩 #CovidInquiry shouldn't be allowed to see a prime minister and government's electronic messages about Covid 'management'

💩 His lawyers should have lied!https://t.co/kMOxc5zpza
— Will Black (@WillBlackWriter) May 30, 2023

Shrodinger's messages:

Cabinet Office, "Dear Covid inquiry, we've carefully examined Boris Johnson's texts and there's nothing relevant."

Inquiry chair: "Can we have a look for ourselves?"

Cabinet Office: "What messages? We haven't seen them."
— James Doleman (@jamesdoleman) May 30, 2023

This week, I shall mostly be deleting WhatsApp messages… pic.twitter.com/Juuj6bMwjV
— Sir Jack Caramac 💙 🇺🇦 (@JCaramac) May 30, 2023

Let's get this straight. The Cabinet Office is committed to the Covid inquiry. Just so long as it is the Cabinet Office that determines what is and isn't relevant to the inquiry
— John Crace (@JohnJCrace) May 30, 2023

Because nothing says ‘I’m innocent’ like suing your own inquiry to avoid sharing unredacted diary entries…https://t.co/vU8IeR2OVq
— Marina Purkiss (@MarinaPurkiss) May 29, 2023

10.

The Cabinet Office have now confirmed that they don't have the diaries and WhatsApp messages that were previously handed to them and which they threatened legal action to avoid disclosing.#CovidInquiry
— Parody Rishi Sunak (@Parody_PM) May 30, 2023