Why row about Boris Johnson's Covid WhatsApp messages matters
- Published
In less than two weeks' time, one of the most important inquiries in recent British history will start holding public hearings.
Senior government ministers - who made life-or-death decisions - will be among those giving evidence.
The inquiry is supposed to help the government and the public work out what ministers got right and wrong - before, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
But, already, there is an almighty row over what the inquiry should have access to.
This isn't just about process. Let me explain.
The inquiry's chair Baroness Hallett is demanding unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks from Boris Johnson.
They cover the period of the pandemic when he was prime minister and making key decisions.
She is adamant that it is her job to decide what is and isn't relevant to her inquiry.
The government disagrees - and speaking to people close to the process, I don't think they're going to back down.
Who is going to win?
They argue that they need to protect the privacy of ministers and others. They say they will not send information that is "unambiguously irrelevant" to the inquiry.
Baroness Hallett has made her position clear
Insiders have told the BBC they will send relevant messages - for example, WhatsApp conversations that led to a policy decision. They would not send messages involving personal conversations.
But they think that decision is for the government - and its lawyers - to make.
So who is going to win?
The more likely answer seems to be the Covid inquiry.
It has legal powers to compel people to produce documents. It also had a pretty broad remit under the terms established by the government.
And some senior Conservatives are now urging the Cabinet Office to back down.
William Wragg is the chair of the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee. It's his job is to look at constitutional issues like this.
He told me: "If the inquiry requests documents and info - then whoever it has asked should comply."
He said this included the government.
Matt Hancock says he is happy to share all messages in full
Caroline Nokes - another select committee chair - said Baroness Hallett was unlikely to roll over and there would be "less pain for the government if they hand [the messages] over quickly".
Legal battle
Former Conservative health secretary Matt Hancock is among those who have made clear they are happy to share unredacted messages in full.
Boris Johnson's allies have also made clear he is happy to send more information - and he says he has given his WhatsApp messages and notebooks in full to the Cabinet Office.
He has also said he will bypass the Cabinet Office by providing WhatsApps dating from April 2021 onwards directly to the inquiry.
So where does this leave the government?
Potentially in a tricky place.
It has now launched a legal battle with the inquiry looking into how it functioned during a public health crisis that changed all of our lives.
If it loses, that would be an embarrassing defeat. Questions would be asked about using public money to fight the case.
If it wins, it's quite possible the Covid inquiry will be seriously undermined.
Will bereaved families who have demanded full transparency accept this? Where would such a ruling leave inquiry chair Baroness Hallett, who has made her position clear?
Cabinet minister Mel Stride has questioned the need for "irrelevant" documents to be provided to the inquiry - saying they would not add value.
He told the BBC the government would be "robust and open and candid" in its dealings with the inquiry.
But he drew a distinction with information that was "unambiguously, entirely irrelevant".
He added: "It seems to me to request lots and lots of that kind of data is not something which is adding any value".
With the government and the inquiry now locked in a legal battle, this row looks set to drag on.
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- Published24 May 2023
