UK government loses legal battle over Johnson's Covid messages
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The Cabinet Office, which coordinates government operations throughout the executive branch, opposed publishing Johnson's WhatsApp chats, journals, and notebooks.
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Boris Johnson leaves his house in London on March 22. 2023 (AP)
Two UK courts denied the government's plea to conceal papers pertaining to ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson from a public investigation into the conduct of the coronavirus pandemic response on Thursday.
The Cabinet Office, which coordinates government operations throughout the executive branch, was opposed to the publication of Johnson's unredacted WhatsApp chats, diaries, and notebooks.
Judges in the High Court ruled that Heather Hallett, chair of the investigation, "acted rationally" when she ordered that the documents were "very likely to contain information about decision-making" during the pandemic.
Read more: Poll: Johnson more popular than Sunak among 2019 voters
The judges also said documents uncovered that were "obviously irrelevant" would be returned.
According to a representative for Hallett, the papers must be turned up to the inquiry by 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) on July 10, while the government ensured it would "fully comply" and work toward "an arrangement that respects individuals' privacy and ensures completely irrelevant information is returned and not retained."
The judgment was a "humiliating defeat" for the government, according to Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the main opposition Labour Party, who accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of "wasting time and taxpayers' money on doomed legal battles."
Johnson has already stated that he does not object to the investigation viewing his communications and notebooks.
His government was chastised for failing to take the pandemic danger seriously and failing to secure protective equipment for medical professionals.
Ministers were also chastised for granting lucrative contracts to friends and allies rather than via formal competitive processes.
Last month, the UK parliament agreed to sustain a ruling that Boris Johnson willfully deceived MPs when he claimed that Covid lockdown restrictions were observed at all times in Downing Street when he was prime minister, including attending a Downing Street party with Sunak and hundreds of other aides.
Johnson resigned as a member of Parliament just before the inquiry's findings were made public.
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