Johnson to hand over WhatsApp messages directly to Covid inquiry

Boris Johnson has bypassed the government's attempt to keep his unredacted WhatsApp messages secret by handing them over directly to the Covid inquiry.

- Aubrey Allegretti, Kiran Stacey

In a move that will further frustrate Downing Street, the former prime minister circumvented the Cabinet Office, which is seeking to hold up the process by launching legal action.

Johnson said he was "not willing to let my material become a test case for others", given the government's reservation that handing over Johnson's files could mean serving ministers are forced to oblige, too.

So far, only messages since spring 2021 have been given to the inquiry, because Johnson said security advisers had told him to permanently turn off a previous phone when its security became compromised. That prompted some frustration, because it meant only messages dated well after all three national lockdowns were available to the inquiry.

To allay concerns, Johnson said he wanted to test the advice never to turn on his old phone. In a letter to the inquiry's chair, Heather Hallett, he said he had asked the Cabinet Office to help turn the device back on securely to search "for all relevant material", which he promised to pass directly to her.