Boris Johnson – latest: Downing Street denies WhatsApp row with Covid Inquiry is a ‘cover-up’

No 10 has denied the row over the disclosure of Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and notebooks to the Covid inquiry is a “cover-up”.

Responding to criticism from former head of the civil service Lord Kerslake, and asked whether there was a “cover up”, Rishi Sunkak’s official spokesman said: “No. We want to learn the lessons about the actions of the state during the pandemic, we want that to be done rigorously and candidly.”

No 10 has said there is no requirement to retain every WhatsApp message after the Cabinet Office told the inquiry it does not hold all of the messages requested surrounding Mr Johnson.

Suggesting the Cabinet Office had assessed Mr Johnson’s messages without keeping them, the PM’s official spokesman said: “We do not permanently store or record every WhatsApp.”

“The substantive and relative content, including decision making, is copied across to the official record in appropriate format for preservation. We wouldn’t, as is standard, retain irrelevant material. There’s no requirement to record every single communication for the public record.”

Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson are not scheduled to meet this week despite suggestions they would hold clear-the-air talks to tackle a series of thorny issues.

It was understood on Tuesday there had been initial discussions about holding a telephone call but this is now not scheduled to go ahead.

The two leading Conservatives would have a lot more to discuss than the row over the disclosure of Mr Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and notebooks to the Covid-19 Inquiry.

The meeting had been billed by the former prime minister’s allies in the Sunday Times as an opportunity to discuss his honours list, which has attracted wide-ranging criticism.

Several current Tory MPs are believed to have been listed – which, if confirmed, would force the Conservatives to fight risky by-elections at a time of dire polling.

Early electoral battles could be held in the seats of former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, Nigel Adams, another close ally of Mr Johnson’s, and Alok Sharma, who was Cop26 president.

There have also been renewed allegations of cronyism, with loyal aides and even his father Stanley Johnson reported to be put forward for honours.

Former Tory leader William Hague warned that handing over unredacted messages could damage government responses to future crises.

Lord Hague told Times Radio: “I think that the problem here is the precedent set for the future. When you are in a crisis, and I have been in a few, what you most need is people who will give you honest, uninhibited advice, who will say ‘actually what my boss told you just now is wrong’ or ‘actually I have a completely different view to what everybody just said in that meeting’.

“A lot of that takes place on WhatsApp now and I think that if those messages are all then to be given to an inquiry, people are, they are going to be less likely to give that honest advice in the future.”

Labour said legal wrangling over Mr Johnson’s WhatsApp messages showed the government has “much to hide”.

And the party called for Lady Hallett to be allowed to decide “what is and is not relevant” to the inquiry.

Deputy leader Angela Rayner said it appeared “vital evidence has gone missing” and called for it to “be found and handed over as requested”.

Ms Rayner said: “The fact the Covid Inquiry has invoked legal powers to compel the handover of crucial documents in the face of legal battles and delaying tactics shows this is a Government with much to hide.

“It now appears that vital evidence has gone missing. It must be found and handed over as requested if the whiff of a cover-up is to be avoided and bereaved families are to get the answers they deserve.

“It is for the Covid Inquiry itself rather than Conservative ministers to decide what is and is not relevant material for its investigation, and this interference only serves to undermine the inquiry’s crucial job of getting to the truth.

“While other countries across the world have already finalised their inquiries into the pandemic, it is essential that UK Government ministers now comply with their obligations so the public can get to the truth and those responsible can be held to account.”

There is “absolutely no difficulty” about trusting the Covid inquiry to redact material or not to publish material that is irrelevant, former senior judge Sir Brian Leveson has said.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s The World At One programme, Sir Brian, who chaired the landmark inquiry into the British press, said: “The Inquiries Act invests great power in the chair to pursue the issues raised by the terms of reference, as he or she thinks appropriate.”

He added: “There is absolutely no difficulty about trusting the inquiry to redact material, not to publish material that is irrelevant. It has no interest in doing so but to confine itself to what is relevant to the terms of reference.”

“Baroness Hallett, I have no doubt, can be trusted and I have equally no doubt that she has faith in those working for the inquiry to ensure that appropriate confidentiality is maintained.”

On the prospect of the government seeking a judicial review to avoid handing over the material, the retired judge said it would have to happen “quite quickly”.

He noted section 38 of the Act requires “that an application for judicial review has to be made very quickly”, adding: “Normally, one has three months to bring a decision, but the act limits that to 14 days after the day on which the relevant decision was known. That time can be extended by the court but if something is going to happen in this space, it’ll happen quite quickly.”

The Liberal Democrats accused the government of using a “dog ate my homework” excuse after the Cabinet Office claimed it does not have copies of Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages.

Deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “This dog ate my homework type excuse from the government simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

“For the Cabinet Office to simultaneously refuse to disclose Boris Johnson’s messages because they were irrelevant to the inquiry, whilst claiming not to even have them, will raise suspicions of another Conservative cover up.

“Rishi Sunak is too weak to stand up to Johnson and make him hand over this evidence, while bereaved families are being left aghast.

“The public has waited long enough already to get the truth. The inquiry’s work mustn’t be delayed any longer because of endless chaos in the Conservative Party.”

Ministers are engaged in a “cover up” by refusing to hand Boris Johnson’s unredacted messages and diaries to the Covid enquiry, the former head of the civil service has said.

Lord Kerslake said officials are attempting to “save ministers embarrassment” by not handing over the documents.

If ministers block the request to turn over official records, which show what was happening at the heart of government during the pandemic, the department faces being dragged to court.

Former treasury minister John Redwood said ministers using WhatsApp to conduct government business showed “a sort of sloppiness”.

Mr Redwood added that he hoped the row over what information the government disclosed does not detract “from the really serious purposes of this inquiry”.

He told GB News: “There has to be an agreement, the public will want reassurance that the inquiry can have all relevant information. And the Cabinet Office and the ministers and senior officials involved will obviously want to make sure that details of their private lives or comments that aren’t really relevant to the inquiry are protected from wider public view.

“One of the problems with the WhatsApp generation is that they seem to blur private observations, bits of their private life and their public duties, so there may well be things on their WhatsApp strand that are relevant to the inquiry.

“But there would also be things that people wouldn’t normally want to publish more widely. So I think there is a sort of sloppiness in the way that some things were handled.”

He added: “I hope it doesn’t detract from the really serious purposes of this inquiry. Which should be to explore how prepared was the NHS for this kind of thing? Could you be properly prepared for it?

“Did they respond quickly when they saw what was happening? How good was the science, how much diversity of thought was there in the science? Did ministers have the right information coming to them to make those very difficult decisions?

She warned that “dozens” more people could face investigations if the police decide to launch a fresh inquiry into alleged Covid breaches at Chequers.

Nicknamed “the Gazelle” for her elegant 6ft stature, Ms Watson worked alongside Mr Johnson’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings – and, like her colleague, she was fired by Mr Johnson.

No 10 has suggested there is nothing to stop Boris Johnson handing his personal evidence directly to the Covid-19 inquiry.

Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said: “It is down to individuals to decide what personal information they are able to hand over, but there is a process for the government-owned material.”

“There’s a distinction between government-owned material, that would need to be disclosed by the government, if it was their own personal information, then obviously they are able to make a judgment.”

Suggesting the Cabinet Office had assessed Mr Johnson’s messages without keeping them – keeping only those deemed to be relevant enough to be stored and therefore “government owned”.

The PM’s official spokesman said: “We do not permanently store or record every WhatsApp.”

“The substantive and relative content, including decision making, is copied across to the official record in appropriate format for preservation. We wouldn’t, as is standard, retain irrelevant material. There’s no requirement to record every single communication for the public record.”