Two more days for the Boris diaries to be handed over

BORIS Johnson’s allies last night said he had ‘no objection’ to disclosing material to the official Covid inquiry as the deadline for handing over unredacted messages was extended.

Ministers had been given until yesterday afternoon to comply with an order to release, in full, the former prime minister’s WhatsApp messages and diaries.

But the deadline was yesterday pushed back to 4pm tomorrow by inquiry chairman Baroness Hallett, who rejected a Government bid for a longer extension. She also revealed that the Cabinet Office said it ‘does not have in its possession either Mr Johnson’s WhatsApp messages or notebooks’ which had been sought.

No 10 denied accusations of a cover-up, and said there is no requirement to ‘permanently store or record every WhatsApp’, with messages related to decisionmaking instead copied over to the official record. The spokesman said it is ‘down to individuals to decide what personal information they are able to hand over’.

A spokesman for Mr Johnson said he ‘has no objection to disclosing material’, adding: ‘He has done so and will continue to do so. The decision to challenge the inquiry’s position on redactions is for the Cabinet Office.’

An ally of the former PM alleged he had become a ‘distraction’ in the row and said the ‘WhatsApps the Government really doesn’t want disclosed are Sunak’s’ – a claim dismissed by No 10.

It emerged last night that the Government has received legal advice to block the release of ‘politically sensitive’ material about the pandemic. Bloomberg reported that documents detailing discussions between senior ministers during the Covid crisis should not be disclosed ‘as a matter of course’ to avoid undermining the principle of collective responsibility.

Mr Sunak insisted yesterday the Government was acting ‘in a spirit of transparency and candour’. But Lady Hallett has demanded a witness statement from a senior civil servant, accompanied by a statement of truth confirming the documents are not held, if the Cabinet Office fails to produce them.

According to the notice seeking the unredacted messages, the inquiry is requesting conversations between Mr Johnson and a host of officials,

‘Irrelevant information’

including chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty, then-health secretary Matt Hancock, former top aide Dominic Cummings and then chancellor Mr Sunak.

Last week, Lady Hallett rejected arguments the inquiry’s request was unlawful and claimed the Cabinet Office had ‘misunderstood the breadth of the investigation’.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said last night they are ‘fully committed to our obligations’ to the inquiry, adding: ‘However, we are firmly of the view the inquiry does not have the power to request unambiguously irrelevant information that is beyond the scope of this investigation. This includes the Whatsapp messages of Government employees which are not about work.’

Former head of the Civil Service Lord Kerslake told the BBC yesterday: ‘There’s some cover-up going on to save embarrassment of ministers, but there’s also the Cabinet Office fighting for a principle of confidentiality. I think they’re misguided on this situation. I actually think it would set a helpful precedent if Lady Hallett prevailed in this fight about the information.’