Boris Johnson has previously called on the High Court to dismiss the government's lawsuit. Photo: Andrew Boyers/PA Wire
The government is finally handing over Boris Johnson's unredacted WhatsApp messages after he lost a lawsuit against the Covid investigation. The Supreme Court.
Lord Justice Dingemans and Mr Justice Garnham dismissed an attempt by the Cabinet of Ministers to seek a judicial review of the requirements of the investigation into reports concerning government decision-making during the pandemic.
After the decision The prime minister's spokesman said the government would continue to cooperate with the investigation and said he welcomed the decision.
They said: “For our part, we welcome the decision, it provides much-welcomed clarity. We believe it has offered a reasonable solution that finds a way out of this important problem, and we will implement it.”
Baroness Hallett, chair of the Investigation Division, ordered the government to pass on Mr. Johnson's messages. and Henry Cook, his former aide.
However, the government has requested judicial review, arguing that it should not hand over material that is «obviously irrelevant.»
Baroness Hallett argued that the Cabinet's stance «undermines» her ability to investigate. Credit: James Manning/PA Wire
The judges dismissed the cabinet's legal challenge, but said the ministry could file another application with Lady Hallett. .
The two judges added: “In order to answer a practical question that seems to have divided the Cabinet of Ministers and the Chairman of the Investigative Committee, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee may examine the disputed documents, and if the Chairman of the Investigative Committee agrees that they are clearly not relevant to the case. will bring them back.”
The Cabinet lawyers argued that the investigation did not have the legal authority to compel ministers to release reports and records that were said to deal with matters “not related to the government’s handling of Covid.”
Lady Hallett argued that the Cabinet position «undermines» her ability to properly conduct an investigation and will have «serious consequences» for all public inquiries.
Mr Johnson urged the High Court to reject the government's ruling. legal action, with his lawyers arguing that «public trust would be undermined» if the cabinet was successful in challenging his WhatsApp and 24 notebooks in court.
The verdict was the «right decision»
The government took the rather unusual step of issuing the challenge in early June. The move drew criticism after days of public wrangling between the cabinet and Lady Hallett's investigation after she dismissed his argument that the materials had nothing to do with the May ruling.
The reports involve conversations with more than 40 people, while Mr. Cook's WhatsApp only has more than 3,289 messages out of seven chat groups, a third of which the Cabinet claims are irrelevant.
The cabinet had previously argued that the number of reports requested concerning Mr. Johnson would leave the investigation «totally inundated with material of no value to its work.» The British group Families for Justice said the decision was «the right decision to ensure that the investigation maintains its credibility and allows it to get to the bottom of the truth.»
He said: «Without full access to all relevant evidence.» , the integrity of the Inquisition would have been further undermined and left toothless by the very government that created it.
“We hope the government will take this decision and as they keep urging us to do after breaking the Covid rules, 'move on'.
Angela Reiner, Deputy Labor Leader, accused the government of «wasting time and taxpayers». money for doomed lawsuits for hiding evidence.
She said: “After this latest humiliating defeat, the prime minister must make a decision and fully comply with the investigation’s requests for evidence.”
“The public deserves answers, not new attempts by the prime minister to undermine the Covid investigation. There can be no more excuses for hiding the truth. The time has come to hand over the evidence.”
The Cabinet of Ministers said it was cooperating with the investigation “in a spirit of frankness and transparency”, and the court recognized his petition as justified.
A government spokesman said the «resolution» would allow the Inquiry to review information it deems important without violating confidentiality and ensuring irrelevant information is returned.
«We will fully implement this decision . and will now work with the investigation team on practical arrangements,” they said.
The Baroness Hallett’s spokeswoman said she was “pleased” that the court upheld her ruling, which was amended to require all materials were submitted by 16:00 on July 10.
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