LONDON – The UK government faces a Thursday afternoon deadline for handing over a bundle by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson personal messages to the country’s inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic — or face legal action over an investigation Johnson himself launched.
The notebooks, diaries and WhatsApp messages between Johnson and other officers constitute important evidence that the investigator’s leader, retired Judge Heather Hallett, wants to see.
However, the government is concerned about the precedent the disclosure of Johnson’s full, unredacted conversations could set. It has handed over incomplete versions and said it had deleted personal and private information not relevant to the investigation.
However, Hallett said, “All of the content of the cited documents may be relevant to the lines of investigation being pursued.”
Hallett – who has the power to subpoena evidence and question witnesses under oath – gave the government a 4:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) deadline on Thursday for the documents to be handed over, covering a two-year period from early 2020.
The issue has fueled tensions between Johnson and the current government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which this week claimed it did not have the material Hallett wanted.
Johnson’s office said on Wednesday that the former prime minister had handed all the material to the government and asked the authorities to turn it over to the investigation.
The UK has recorded more than 200,000 deaths from people who have tested positive for COVID-19, one of the highest numbers in Europe, and Johnson’s government decisions have been the subject of endless debate. Johnson agreed to conduct an investigation in late 2021 after being pressured by bereaved relatives.
Hallett’s inquiry is set to examine how well the UK is prepared for a pandemic, how the government has responded and whether “the magnitude of the losses were inevitable or whether things could have been done better”. The public hearings are scheduled to begin on June 13, and Johnson is among the senior officials due to testify.
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