LONDON – A British court on Thursday rejected the UK government’s request to stop the release of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages and diaries to an official COVID-19 request.
The Cabinet Office took the unusual step bring a legal challenge after the retired judge who led the UK inquiry Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic ordered the Conservative government to release full copies of Johnson’s documents.
Government officials argued that the investigation lacked the legal authority to compel them to turn over documents and messages they said were “clearly irrelevant”. like the government dealt with COVID-19.
However, lawyers involved in the investigation said the idea that officials could decide what material was relevant would undermine public confidence in the process.
The judges ruling in the Cabinet Office case said the documents requested contained WhatsApp messages exchanged between officials dealing with COVID-19. They added that Johnson’s diaries and notebooks “also very likely contained information about decision-making” related to the pandemic.
A spokeswoman for Heather Hallett, the retired judge who led the COVID inquiry, said following Thursday’s decision that the Cabinet Office must turn over Johnson’s material by Monday.
The government said it will fully comply with the ruling and will cooperate with the investigation to ensure the privacy of those involved is protected.
Johnson, who was prime minister during the COVID-19 pandemic, agreed to an inquiry into how the government has been dealing with the spread of the virus in late 2021.
Johnson turned over some of his unredacted notebooks to the probe along with diaries and WhatsApp messages in late May.
Opposition parties and critics accused the conservative government of trying to evade control. The group “COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice” said it was a “shame” that the Cabinet Office had tried to obstruct the work of the inquiry.
“This forensic review was a desperate waste of time and money,” said group spokeswoman Deborah Doyle. “The investigation must get to the bottom of the facts if the country is to learn lessons that will save lives in the future.”
COVID-19 has been recorded as causing the deaths of nearly 227,000 people in the UK, one of the highest death tolls from a pandemic in Europe, and critics have questioned whether mistakes or wrong decisions by the UK government played a part. The survivors of some of those who died pressured the government to authorize an investigation.
Hallett has the power to subpoena evidence and witnesses, including senior politicians, to testify under oath at public hearings that began last month.
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