London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Legal challenge to ‘government by WhatsApp’

Legal challenge to ‘government by WhatsApp’

The government is facing a High Court challenge over its use of WhatsApp and instant messaging.

Official guidelines have emerged which say ministers must ensure instant messages on an internal system are deleted.

Transparency campaigners say this is "unlawful" and have secured a judicial review of the rules.

Ministers are banned from using WhatsApp and private email for discussing government business.

But Cori Crider, director of campaigning law group Foxglove, told BBC News the rules were clearly not being followed and were incoherent.

"This is the first case of its kind, and it raises a critical issue in modern government. We're doing this to defend the integrity of our public debate. We can't learn from history if the evidence has vanished into thin air."

The group has argued that using messaging systems that allow texts to be deleted violated the Public Records Act of 1958, which requires legal checks to be made on messages in case they need to be kept for the public interest.

It also represented a threat to the integrity of our public record and Freedom of Information laws, campaigners said.

The Cabinet Office said it did not comment on specific legal cases.

A spokesman added: "Ministers will use a range of modern forms of communication for discussions, in line with legislative requirements, and taking into account government guidance."

But Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, said ministers "must not govern by private messages that are then deleted", adding: "This is completely undemocratic and an attack on transparency and accountability."

'Switched off'


Ministers' use of private email, text and messaging services has been at the centre of growing concerns in recent months.

Some of Boris Johnson's WhatsApp messages were revealed by Dominic Cummings, as the prime minister's former chief adviser sought to expose shortcomings in the government's handling of the Covid crisis.

But these had apparently been captured in screen shots by Mr Cummings. WhatsApp messages can be set to self-delete.

It has now emerged in documents released by the High Court that ministers and officials are told to ensure their internal Google chat instant message chats are deleted.

A confidential Cabinet Office guidance document from February this year said: "Instant messaging is provided to all staff and should be used in preference to email for routine communications where there is no need to retain a record of the communication.

"Instant message history in individual and group chats must be switched off and should not be retained once a session is finished.

"If the content of an instant message is required for the record or as an audit trail, a note for the record should be created and the message content saved in that.

"For example, written up in an email or in a document created in a word processor which is itself saved into the relevant drive."

'Dangerous'


Foxglove, which is bringing the case on behalf of the claimants - non-profit media group the Citizens - said there was no evidence of officials ever following this procedure, and that the rules were "all over the place".

Clara Maguire, director of the Citizens, said Tuesday's select committee report into the government's handling of the pandemic showed a "culture of secrecy contributed to tens of thousands of excess deaths".

"We believe this case goes to the very heart of this problem and we look forward to proving government by WhatsApp is not only dangerous but also unlawful," she added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
×