UK COVID Inquiry Extends Deadline for Government to Provide Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp Messages

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson listens during a tour after a meeting with Gov. Greg Abbott at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, on May 23, 2023. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The UK’s official COVID-19 inquiry has extended the deadline for the government to hand over former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages, diaries, and notebooks.

The initial request by the inquiry to receive the data was sent on April 28. In response, the Cabinet Office said it did not “have in its possession either Mr. Johnson’s WhatsApp messages or Mr. Johnson’s notebooks,” requesting an extension to June 5.

This was rejected by the Chair of the inquiry Lady Hallett, who instead granted a short extension to 4 p.m. on June 1.

The new deadline was published in the newly released notice by the inquiry (pdf), which was set up to examine the UK’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The inquiry seeks to obtain the unredacted WhatsApp messages and diary entries by the former prime minister and his adviser Henry Cook, deeming the data significant in providing insight into core political and administrative decision-making by the UK government during the pandemic.

If the Cabinet Office does not have the material by Thursday, the inquiry said it should submit the correspondence with Johnson or his office, regarding the identification of potentially relevant WhatsApp materials and specified notebooks held by him.

In a previous exchange between the inquiry and the government, which had provided legal advice for Johnson, the Cabinet Office said it had reviewed WhatsApp threads and groups and had identified messages that are “unambiguously irrelevant” to the inquiry.

Hallett dismissed the government’s argument that the requested data was irrelevant. The final decision on whether documents are relevant to the inquiry’s investigations lie with the chair, Hallett said (pdf).

Back and Forth

Johnson has been using the Cabinet Office’s legal team for advice in relation to the inquiry led by the Privileges Committee.

On May 24, Johnson wrote to the inquiry, saying that he was seeking new solicitors to represent him, marking a shift from the Cabinet Office legal team. He argued that he never saw the inquiry’s original request and he is not allowed to see the ruling before it is published.

“This is highly prejudicial to me given that I believe your ruling may directly and/or indirectly suggest that I have failed to provide documents to the Inquiry. Any such suggestion or implication would be unfair and untrue. The Notice was issued before the deadline had passed for me to provide material to the Inquiry. I have always sought to comply with all disclosure requests from the Inquiry and I have already disclosed over 5,000 pages of documents and over 300 pages of emails,” Johnson wrote.

In response, the inquiry argued that Johnson was represented by the government legal department at all times when the inquiry’s requests and notice were issued.

“The extent to which these matters were canvassed with you by your solicitors and counsel during this time is a matter between you and them, but the government legal department certainly told me it was making efforts to contact the individuals whose materials were identified in the notice to inform them as soon as possible when the notice was issued,” said solicitor to the inquiry Martin Smith (pdf).

Former Justice Secretary Lord Falconer said in an interview with Sky News that the government “hasn’t got a leg to stand on“ in its disagreement over the relevance of the unredacted WhatsApp messages. He added that Johnson likely stopped using his Cabinet-appointed lawyers because they ”weren’t willing to make the arguments” he wanted them to.

The clash of the Cabinet’s concerns over revealing personal information to the inquiry and Hallett’s confidence in the significance of the requested data, could lead to a legal battle. In such a scenario, the courts will decide what materials are to be released to the inquiry.