Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

UK government initiates legal battle over messages during Covid pandemic

Boris Johnson faced criticism in the early stages of the health emergency for not adequately recognising the severity of the threat

UK government initiates legal battle over messages during Covid pandemic

The UK government declared its intention on Thursday (01) to launch a legal challenge concerning the disclosure of documents to a public inquiry investigating its management of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Cabinet Office revealed that it would pursue a judicial review of the directive issued by inquiry chair Judge Heather Hallett, which mandates the submission of all correspondence.


The government specifically opposes the release of unredacted WhatsApp messages, diaries, and personal notebooks belonging to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who held the position during the relevant period.

Johnson faced criticism in the early stages of the health emergency for not adequately recognising the severity of the threat. However, as the death toll escalated and new variants emerged, the scrutiny intensified.

Additionally, government ministers have faced backlash for allegedly granting contracts for protective equipment to acquaintances and allies, bypassing official government tendering procedures.

The Cabinet Office, responsible for coordinating government activities, was given a deadline of 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) to submit the requested materials or face potential legal consequences.

But it said in a letter to Hallett: "The Cabinet Office has today sought leave to bring a judicial review.

"We do so with regret and with an assurance that we will continue to cooperate fully with the inquiry before, during and after the jurisdictional issue in question is determined by the courts."

The letter stated that if a review is granted, it would look at whether the inquiry "has the power to compel production of documents and messages which are unambiguously irrelevant to the inquiry's work, including personal communications and matters unconnected to the government's handling of Covid".

"The request for unambiguously irrelevant material goes beyond the powers of the inquiry," it asserted, adding that to do so would be an "unwarranted intrusion into other aspects of the work of government" as well as serving and former ministers, and government employees.

However, Judge Heather Hallett maintains her responsibility to determine the relevance of information for the inquiry.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Labour party has accused the government of attempting to conceal evidence, suggesting a potential cover-up.

Johnson, who initiated the probe, scheduled to have its inaugural comprehensive hearing later this month, stated on Thursday his readiness to directly provide the requested material.

"I see no reason why the inquiry should not be able to satisfy itself about the contents of my own Whatsapps and notebooks," Johnson said in a separate letter to Hallett.

"If you wish to have this material forthwith, please let me know where and how you wish me to send it to you," he added.

Last week, Johnson was outraged upon learning that the Cabinet Office had supplied material to two police forces regarding potential violations of pandemic regulations.

He, along with numerous aides and the current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, had previously been fined for attending alcohol-fuelled gatherings at Downing Street, thereby breaking the very laws they had implemented for the country.

(AFP)

More For You

King Charles

King Charles, wearing a black armband to pay respects to the victims of Air India plane crash, attends the Trooping the Colour parade on his official birthday in London. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Victims remembered during King Charles's birthday parade

A MINUTE's silence for the victims of the Air India plane crash was observed on Saturday during the Trooping the Colour parade in London marking King Charles's official birthday. Some members of the royal family wore black armbands during the ceremony.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles, 76, had requested changes to the parade “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rochdale grooming case

They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began. (Photo: Greater Manchester Police)

Seven men convicted of raping 13-year-old girls in Rochdale grooming case

SEVEN men were convicted on Friday in the UK’s latest grooming trial, after a jury heard that two girl victims were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses”.

Jurors at the court in Manchester, northwest England, deliberated for three weeks before finding the seven men, all of whom are of South Asian descent, guilty of rape.

Keep ReadingShow less
karan-thakar

Karun Thakar is a leading textile collector with a lifelong focus on Asian and African textiles

Karun Collection

Karun Thakar Fund to support textile research with scholarships and grants

THE KARUN THAKAR FUND, established by textile collector Karun Thakar in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), supports the study of Asian and African textiles and dress through scholarships and project grants.

The fund offers one-time Scholarship Awards of up to £10,000 for university students worldwide focusing on any aspect of Asian or African textiles and dress. Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from any accredited university are eligible, provided their research or practice is clearly linked to these areas. The next round of Scholarship Award applications opens on 1 May 2025 and closes at 23:59 on July 15, 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India

A view shows the wreckage of the tail section of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from airport in Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Probe focuses on engine and flaps; safety checks ordered for 787 fleet

THE INVESTIGATION into the Air India crash that killed more than 240 people is focusing on the aircraft's engine, flaps, and landing gear.

The Indian aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline’s entire Boeing 787 fleet, reported Reuters.

Keep ReadingShow less