Boris Johnson’s notebooks from his time in office raised national security concerns “at the highest level”, it has been claimed.
They are being withheld from him by the government after a security review found pages of “highly sensitive material”.
The Cabinet Office, which has the former prime minister’s notebooks, has told the official Covid-19 inquiry that “some of the material in question may involve issues of national security”. It has also raised concerns about some of Mr Johnson’s WhatsApp messages, The Times reported on Saturday.
It comes amid a legal battle between the Cabinet Office and the inquiry over the materials. The government is seeking a judicial review of inquiry chairwoman Baroness Hallett’s request for all of the former prime minister’s WhatsApp correspondence and notes.
Ministers argue some of the material is “unambiguously irrelevant” to the inquiry, but Baroness Hallet has said she should be able to decide what is relevant.
Ministers have confirmed that they expect an expedited High Court hearing to take place on or shortly after June 30.
Officials have advised that sensitive passages in Mr Johnson’s diaries should only be viewed by those with the highest security clearance.
The Cabinet Office has told the inquiry: “Some of the material in question may involve issues of national security and we appreciate the inquiry’s understanding of the need to treat sensitive material appropriately. We will continue to work with both Mr Johnson and the inquiry to ensure that any materials that may contain . . . security sensitivities are handled appropriately.”
And The Times claimed multiple instances of sensitive material has been identified and that concerns had been raised at the highest level. It means Mr Johnson’s notebooks – expected to form the basis of a political memoir – will not be returned to him before the judicial review.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may be spared a vote on the Privileges Committee’s report on Boris Johnson
A spokesman for Johnson told The Times the government is returning his notebooks to him “so cannot be very concerned about their contents”.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “We do not comment on security matters.”
It came after Mr Johnson was accused of committing another “clear breach” of the rules by taking a six-figure job writing a weekly column in the Daily Mail. He did not inform the appointments watchdog about the job until half an hour before a public announcement.
A damning Privileges Committee report will be debated in the Commons on Monday as Rishi Sunak seeks to unite warring Conservative MPs.
The report recommended that Mr Johnson should have faced a 90-day suspension had he not already resigned in advance of its judgment.
Though he cannot now serve that, the cross-party group of MPs also recommended that he should be banned from holding a pass to access Parliament for a series of offences.
