COVID-19 Inquiry Faces Legal Challenge as Cabinet Office Challenges Request for Johnson's Phone Messages
Rishi Sunak, the current UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, is trying to limit the scope of an inquiry into the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was established by Boris Johnson when he was Prime Minister.
The inquiry's chair, Heather Hallett, has requested access to phone messages and other documents from Johnson, but the Cabinet Office is challenging this demand in court, saying that the information is irrelevant and beyond the scope of the inquiry's statutory powers.
The decision has been criticized by opposition parties and bereaved families' groups, but Johnson himself is said to be happy to provide the requested documents to Hallett.
The legal case is likely to be decided by the high court in the coming weeks.
The article discusses the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the requests for information, including old WhatsApp messages, from former government officials, ministers, aides, and civil servants involved in the response.
The ubiquitous use of WhatsApp to communicate within government is seen as a benefit because it provides a verbatim record of conversations that would have happened on the phone.
One former government official is quoted as saying they are phlegmatic about being asked to hand over every message, including personal ones, and believes the inquiry will find that people did their best and there were no humongous failures.
However, another former official notes that watching old WhatsApp messages could be like watching a horror film, and they are unsure what the inquiry will uncover.
The decision has been criticized by opposition parties and bereaved families' groups, but Johnson himself is said to be happy to provide the requested documents to Hallett.
The legal case is likely to be decided by the high court in the coming weeks.
The article discusses the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the requests for information, including old WhatsApp messages, from former government officials, ministers, aides, and civil servants involved in the response.
The ubiquitous use of WhatsApp to communicate within government is seen as a benefit because it provides a verbatim record of conversations that would have happened on the phone.
One former government official is quoted as saying they are phlegmatic about being asked to hand over every message, including personal ones, and believes the inquiry will find that people did their best and there were no humongous failures.
However, another former official notes that watching old WhatsApp messages could be like watching a horror film, and they are unsure what the inquiry will uncover.
