Tech experts retrieve Boris Johnson’s pandemic WhatsApps from old phone
Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages have now been retrieved from his old phone and will be handed over to the COVID inquiry unredacted, his spokesman has said.
The probe into the government’s handling of the pandemic demanded to see the former PM’s messages from the height of lockdown as part of its ongoing work.
But after settling a disagreement with the Cabinet Office in the courts over whether the messages were necessary, the inquiry still did not receive the texts ahead of last week’s deadline.
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Mr Johnson’s spokesperson had said the former PM was advised to keep his old phone switched off due to security concerns after it was discovered, while he was in office, that the number had been freely available on the internet for around 15 years.
But after the ex-leader got the sign off from security services to turn the device back on, reports circulated that he had forgotten his passcode.
Now, Mr Johnson’s spokesman has said “technical experts” had “successfully recovered all relevant messages from the device”, meaning they could be given to the inquiry.
However, a “security check of this material” was now required by government, so “the timing of any further progress on delivery to the inquiry is therefore under the Cabinet Office’s control”.
Chair of the COVID inquiry Baroness Hallett demanded to see all of Boris Johnson’s diaries, notebooks and WhatsApp messages from during the pandemic.
The spokesperson added: “It was always the case that Boris Johnson would pass this material to the inquiry and do everything possible to help it be recovered.
“A careful process approved by the inquiry has been followed to ensure that this was successful.”
The COVID inquiry, led by its chair Baroness Hallett, used a section 21 notice to request all of Mr Johnson’s unreacted WhatsApps, diaries and notebooks back in May.
But the Cabinet Office argued some of the content was “unambiguously irrelevant” and sought a judicial review against it.
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Rishi Sunak insists that ‘tens of thousands’ of documents have been handed over to the inquiry and that ‘lessons will be learned’ from its findings.
Mr Johnson insisted throughout that he was happy to handover the material, putting him at odds with the government position.
However, he said the security concerns with his old phone – which he stopped using in May 2021 – meant he would have to seek advice from the security services about messages from before that date.
The High Court ruled in the chair’s favour earlier this month, and the department promised to comply.
Now, it appears Mr Johnson can also handover all the remaining material required by the inquiry.
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Politics
£104bn of water industry investment will come from bill payers, environment secretary concedes
Steve Reed has conceded that the bulk of the £104bn of water industry investment which he boasts Labour has attracted since coming to office will come from bill payers.
In an interview with Sky News, the environment secretary sought to blame the previous Tory government for a string of high profile investors walking away from the sector over the last year.
Mr Reed does not accept claims that further threats to jail water bosses and promises to curb price rises have deterred investment.
Instead, he told Sky News that “by bringing in the £104bn of private sector investment that we secured at the end of last year, we can make sure that the investment is going in to support” the industry.
When challenged that the £104bn was total expenditure not total investment, and that bill payers would pay back this expenditure over the coming decades, Mr Reed conceded this was right – and the money ultimately is coming from bill payers.
“The money comes in from investors up front so we can do that spending straight away,” he said.
“Over decades, the investors got a modest return from the bills that customers are paying. That’s how investment works.”
Some investors have warned they do not think it viable to fund the UK water sector because of the hostile political tone of ministers and lack of certainty.
Ministers have said the government does not want to renationalise water as it would mean years of legal wrangling and cost a lot of money.
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Minister rules out nationalising the water
Labour has launched a record 81 criminal investigations into water companies over sewage dumping since winning the election last year.
Water company bosses could be jailed for up to five years and the companies fined hundreds of millions of pounds if they are found guilty.
Mr Reed committed to not interfering with those prosecutions, saying it would be “highly inappropriate” for any minister to do so.
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Labour to eliminate unauthorised sewage spillages in 10 years
He rejected suggestions ministers will be pressured to ensure water bosses do not serve jail time as this will deter investors.
“It’s a judicial process, it would be highly inappropriate for any ministerial interference in the process,” Mr Reed said.
“They will work their way through the court system, as they should do, and ministers will decide on sanctions after.”
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