COVID inquiry: Government seeks judicial review over order to hand over Boris Johnson WhatsApp messages
The Cabinet Office is seeking a judicial review of Baroness Hallett’s order to release Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages, diaries and notebooks, it confirmed in a letter to the COVID inquiry.
The government department said it was bringing a judicial review challenge “with regret” – but added that there were “important issues of principle at stake”.
Despite the development, it said it would “continue to co-operate fully with the inquiry before, during and after the jurisdictional issue in question”.
The legal action comes after days of wrangling in which the government hesitated over handing the tranche of documents to the public inquiry over fears it would compromise ministers’ and other individuals’ right to privacy.
Outlining its refusal to hand over the material in its letter, the Cabinet Office again questioned whether it had “the power to compel production of documents and messages which are unambiguously irrelevant to the inquiry’s work”.
COVID legal challenge ‘desperate attempt to withhold evidence – politics latest
Such materials include personal messages and “matters unconnected to the government’s handling of COVID”, it said.
It argued that requesting “irrelevant” material “represents an unwarranted intrusion into other aspects of the work of government” and that “important issues of principle are at stake here, affecting both the rights of individuals and the proper conduct of government”.
It said it had explored “a number of possible avenues for resolving this difference of opinion”, including offering redacted versions of the materials and “a more focused or sequential approach to the direction of the information requirements”.
“We remain hopeful and willing to agree together the best way forward.”
Inquiry chair Lady Hallett ordered the government to hand over the documents last week without any amendments, using a section 21 notice.
The tranche includes messages sent between former prime minister Mr Johnson and his fellow ministers and advisers during the pandemic, as well as diary entries.
But the Cabinet Office said today that Mr Johnson’s messages did not cover whole period the inquiry wants because he was using a new phone from May 2021.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Rishi Sunak gives his response to speculation surrounding Boris Johnson’s messages being given to the COVID inquiry.
A government lawyer said the former prime minister had also swapped his own legal representation recently and gave “specified legal counsel permission to access an electronic record of certain WhatsApps” over the past two days.
Then on Wednesday night, Mr Johnson “invited Cabinet Office to share this information with the inquiry”.
“By working through the night, lawyers acting for Cabinet Office have now completed our review for national security and unambiguously irrelevant material and are in a separate communication providing the relevant material to the inquiry today,” it added/
But the department wanted to note they had “not been able to verify the completeness of this material” given to them by Mr Johnson, saying it did not cover the “whole of the specified time period, but only the period from May 2021 when the former prime minister acquired a new phone”.
It added: “We have asked Boris Johnson if he will provide to us any further messages caught by the Section 21 notice.”
The inquiry confirmed on Thursday afternoon that it had received a response from the Cabinet Office.
In a short statement, it said: “At 4pm today the chair of the UK COVID public inquiry was served a copy of a claim form by the Cabinet Office seeking to commence judicial review proceedings against the chair’s ruling of 22 May 2023.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The Cabinet Office has reiterated its refusal to hand over some of Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages to the COVID inquiry
Further information will be provided at a preliminary hearing at 10.30am on 6 June, it said.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mr Johnson’s team said all the information the inquiry wanted had been passed to the Cabinet Office.
His spokesman said the ex-prime minister wanted the Cabinet Office to “urgently” hand over the material, in a move that put pressure on Rishi Sunak and the government to hand over the documents.
Responding to the judicial review, Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner accused Mr Sunak of undermining the inquiry and said he was “hopelessly distracted with legal ploys to obstruct the Covid Inquiry in a desperate attempt to withhold evidence”.
“Instead of digging himself further into a hole by pursuing doomed legal battles to conceal the truth, Rishi Sunak must comply with the Covid Inquiry’s requests for evidence in full. There can be no more excuses.”
Daily Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, also criticised the government’s decision, calling it a “kick in the teeth” for bereaved families.
“This cowardly attempt to obstruct a vital public inquiry is a kick in the teeth for bereaved families who’ve already waited far too long for answers.
“The government is delaying the inquiry even further and clogging up court time, all to prevent Sunak and his Conservative colleagues from having to release their messages.”
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Putin’s Victory Day parade explained
The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
👉Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim on your podcast app👈
Read more:
Russia’s VE Day parade felt like celebration of war
Michael Clarke Q&A on Ukraine war
Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of breaching ceasefire
The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
Read more from Sky News:
Man charged with murder of 87-year-old
Iranian arrested in counter-terror probe
Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway