Ms Hallett argues says she is best placed to judge whether any material is irrelevant or not, as she wants to examine the wider political context of the time. Mr Sunak’s advisers, meanwhile, are worried that if the government complies with the inquiry’s request, it sets a precedent that could see the current prime minister having to give up his own WhatsApps.
In legal documents released by the Cabinet Office about an hour after the deadline passed, the government revealed that, in any event, it does not have access to any of Mr Johnson’s WhatsApp records from the period prior to May 2021. That is when he had to change his mobile phone number and device for security reasons after it emerged his old number was in the public domain for 15 years.
The inquiry also wants full access to Mr Johnson’s ministerial diaries and all of his personal notebooks from his time as prime minister during the Covid crisis. “The request for unambiguously irrelevant material goes beyond the powers of the inquiry,” it said. “It represents an unwarranted intrusion into other aspects of the work of government.
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Source: IrishTimes - 🏆 3. / 98 Read more »