Government goes to court to avoid handing over ministerial Covid messages

The Cabinet Office yesterday confirmed that it is seeking a judicial review of Baroness Hallett’s order to release Boris Johnson’s unredacted text messages, diaries and personal notebooks.

The chairwoman of the inquiry gave the department until 4pm yesterday to release the documents, a demand which the Government will now take to the courts, arguing that it should not have to hand over material which is “unambiguously irrelevant”

It comes after Boris Johnson handed over the material to officials and said they should be disclosed – putting the Cabinet Office in a difficult position.

Whitehall officials are concerned about the wider precedent that will be set by handing over swathes of unredacted WhatsApp conversations, with fears that the inquiry will seek similar levels of disclosure from other senior figures including Mr Sunak himself.

“While Mr Johnson understands the Government’s position, and does not seek to contradict it, he is perfectly happy for the inquiry to have access to this material in whatever form it requires,” a spokesman said.

The Cabinet Office said it had provided “as much relevant information as possible, and as quickly as possible” in line with the order.

But the letter said: “The Cabinet Office has today sought leave to bring a judicial review.”

It questioned whether the inquiry has “the power to compel production of documents and messages which are unambiguously irrelevant to the inquiry’s work, including personal communications and matters unconnected to the Government’s handling of Covid”.

The Government said it considered there were “important issues of principle at stake” affecting the rights of individuals and “the proper conduct of government”.

“The request for unambiguously irrelevant material goes beyond the powers of the inquiry,” the letter said.

“It represents an unwarranted intrusion into other aspects of the work of government,” it added.

“It also represents an intrusion into their legitimate expectations of privacy and protection of their personal information.”

Earlier today the Prime Minister said that the Government was “confident” in its position as it considered next steps.

Speaking to broadcasters at a gathering of European leaders in Moldova, the Rishi Sunak said: “I think it’s really important that we learn the lessons of Covid so that we can be better prepared in the future.

“We’re doing that in the spirit of rigour but also transparency and candour. We’ve co-operated – the Government’s co-operated thoroughly with the inquiry to date, handing over tens of thousands of documents, and we will continue to comply, of course, with the law, co-operate with the inquiry.”

The Liberal Democrats said yesterday that the decision was a “cowardly attempt to obstruct” the Covid-19 public inquiry,

The party’s deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “This cowardly attempt to obstruct a vital public inquiry is a kick in the teeth for bereaved families who’ve already waited far too long for answers.

“Rishi Sunak’s promise to govern with integrity and accountability has been left in tatters.

“The Government is delaying the inquiry even further and clogging up court time, all to prevent Sunak and his Conservative colleagues from having to release their messages.”

Lord Saville, who chaired the Bloody Sunday inquiry, backed Lady Hallett’s approach.

“Who is to decide what is relevant or not? In my view, prima facie at least, it is Lady Hallett,” he told the BBC.

“She is in charge of the inquiry, one of her duties is to do a thorough job. It is for her to decide whether something is relevant or not. If she looks at something and decides it is not relevant then there is no reason to publish it.”