PRESS RELEASE FOLLOWING REFERRAL OF BORIS JOHNSON TO THE POLICE – THE CABINET OFFICE FACES ‘CRIMINAL SANCTIONS’ IF IT FAILS TO DISCLOSE UNREDACTED WHATSAPP MESSAGES AND DIARIES OF BORIS JOHNSON TO THE UK COVID 19 PUBLIC INQUIRY
PRESS RELEASE – 24 MAY 2023 – BY SCOTTISH COVID BEREAVED
FOLLOWING REFERRAL OF BORIS JOHNSON TO THE POLICE – THE CABINET OFFICE FACES ‘CRIMINAL SANCTIONS’ IF IT FAILS TO DISCLOSE UNREDACTED WHATSAPP MESSAGES AND DIARIES OF BORIS JOHNSON TO THE UK COVID 19 PUBLIC INQUIRY
(Information has now been published on the Inquiry’s website, along with correspondence received today from the Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP and a response from the Solicitor to the Inquiry. The materials will be available within the ‘documents’ tab. )
Statement by Aamer Anwar Solicitor acting on behalf of the Scottish Covid Bereaved at both the Scottish & UK Public Inquiries.
The ‘Scottish Covid Bereaved’ find it distressing and shameful that Boris Johnson, blamed by many for the needless loss of lives and the ‘carousel of pandemic chaos’ is once more being referred to the police for investigation. Whilst some politicians now accuse lawyers at Cabinet Office of being ‘politically motivated’, this must not be allowed under any circumstances to distract from Boris Johnson’s key role in the handling of the Pandemic. Boris Johnson advised the Inquiry today of the following:-
“I am unrepresented and my counsel team have been instructed not to provide me with any advice. My understanding is that your ruling affects me directly…..I ask that publication of your ruling is delayed for at least 48 hours for me to obtain legal representation and receive legal advice on your ruling. If you are not prepared to delay publication, I ask that a copy of this letter is also published by the Inquiry in due course to make clear my concerns about the unfairness of the position in which I have been placed.”
His letter has accordingly been published in full on the website- see links below
The mantra repeatedly heard from the UK Government to each ‘grubby revelation’ is that we should await the outcome of the UK inquiry- that is a ‘smokescreen’ – we now know that the Cabinet Office has failed to handover the unredacted WhatsApp messages and the diaries of Boris Johnson.
On 28 April 2023 Baroness Hallett, Chair of the Covid-19 UK Inquiry issued a Notice under Section21(2)(b) of the Inquiries Act 2005 to the Cabinet Office. Despite an unequivocal request by Baroness Hallett, using her statutory power under Section 21 of the 2005 Act, for unredacted copies of a range of documents, consisting of WhatsApp messages, diaries and notebooks, that she considered to be potentially relevant, Cabinet Office took the view that it was permitted to redact what it judged to be “unambiguously irrelevant material” before they were provided to the Inquiry.
Baroness Hallett however has refused an application by Cabinet Office. (Links to those decisions are attached below.)
This request for the above materials by the Inquiry followed our submissions to the UK Public Inquiry Preliminary hearing on the 1st March 2023 when we appeared for the ‘Scottish Covid Bereaved’. On the 28th February it was revealed that 100,000 WhatsApp messages of the former Health Secretary Matt Hancock containing over 2.3 million words were leaked by the Daily Telegraph.
As we stated to the Inquiry on the 1st March, if what is contained within those texts was correct, it showed that Ministers of the State at the highest level were making decisions on handling the pandemic via WhatsApp. The allegations were deeply horrifying and upsetting for the families we represent and if true meant that the lives of thousands were considered ‘expendable’.
It was clear from the leaks that the PM, former PM, cabinet ministers, Chief Medical Officers, Scientific Advisors, senior civil servants, Newspaper Editors, Dominic Cummings and even Tony Blair can be found engaging in the messages.
At the preliminary hearing on the 1st March we asked Baroness Hallett, whether those WhatsApp texts had been released to the Public Inquiry, we stated that anything less than full disclosure by all Government Ministers, would be considered as an attack on the integrity of both the UK and Scottish Public Inquiries.
We submitted at the time that it was clear from the revelations that Cabinet Office were privy to the material released by Mr. Hancock to his biographer, and that they had the right to veto for his ‘pandemic diaries’, therefore the question we asked was whether such crucial material for all ministers and officials would be released immediately and in full to the Public Inquiry without redactions.
There are a number of key individuals who stand accused of profiteering from the misery of grieving families, whilst attempting to rewrite history, the only forum that evidence should be heard is in a legal forum, subject to robust examination and all the rules of evidence- on this occasion that must be in the form of a Public Inquiry.
Baroness Hallett responded positively to our submissions at the preliminary hearing and assured the bereaved that her Inquiry would make every possible effort to ensure that they would investigate all the messages and their content before completing any kind of examination on the role of ministers. Following the preliminary hearing on the 1stMarch Baroness Hallett on the 28 April 2023 issued a Notice to the Cabinet Office, requiring production of specified documents in unredacted form. On 15 May 2023, the Cabinet Office made an application under section 21(4) of the 2005 Act to revoke the entirety of the Notice.
On the 22nd May 2023 the UK Covid Inquiry refused the Cabinet Office’s application and renewed its demand for full and unredacted disclosure, with the threat of criminal sanctions if they fail to comply, this is unprecedented.
Failure to comply with the Section 21 Notice without reasonable excuse under section 35 of the Inquiries Act 2005 is a criminal offence, punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding £1,000 and/or imprisonment for a maximum of 51 weeks.
Broadly speaking, the documents requested fall into two categories:-
i)WhatsApp communications recorded on devices owned or used by the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson MP and also an adviser named Henry Cook, comprising exchanges between senior government ministers, senior civil servants and their advisers during the pandemic (including both group messages and also messages between individuals (or ‘threads’)).
ii)Mr Johnson’s diaries for the same period, together with notebooks that contain his contemporaneous notes.
Baroness Hallett regards all these documents as being of significance as they contain information that is potentially relevant to Module 2 of the Inquiry, which is investigating core political and administrative decision-making by the UK government during the pandemic. The Inquiry has requested potentially relevant WhatsApp materials from a large number of witnesses, including key decision-makers, senior civil servants and government advisers.
We note that the Inquiry states at paragraph 22 of the notice by Baroness Hallett
a. First, it is apparent that some important passages (relating for example to
discussions between the Prime Minister and his advisers about the enforcement of Covid regulations by the Metropolitan Police during the public demonstrations following the murder of Sarah Everard) were initially assessed by the Cabinet Office to be “unambiguously irrelevant” to my investigations and therefore redacted from copies of the WhatsApp messages initially provided to the Inquiry. Whilst those redactions have now (very recently) been removed, it was not a promising start.
b. Second, there are some passages within the material that remain redacted on grounds of “unambiguous irrelevance” that I consider are in fact relevant to my investigation and that I would wish to disclose to Core Participants. Those passages relate, for example, to the way in which WhatsApp messages should be used in policy formation and to relations between the UK and Scottish governments.
The application by Cabinet Office was dismissed by Baroness Hallett and they are required to be produce the requested documentation by 4pm on 30 May 2023.
The families we represent welcome the unprecedented and robust response of the Chair to Cabinet Office and their failure of Cabinet Office to disclose all the material requested. The Government should be answerable to the people, there must be no hiding place for those involved in decision making. No individual, no matter how powerful can be allowed to interfere with the pursuit of truth, justice, and accountability by this Inquiry, those who lost their lives to Covid-19 deserve nothing less.
As the Chair of the Scottish Covid Bereaved Dr Alan Wightman said Lady Hallett has honoured the promise she made to their group when they met with her in March 2022, in that her Inquiry would identify gaps in evidence and demand that they be filled and will dealing with any attempt by Government Departments, Ministers or Civil Servants who may attempt to obfuscate or to delay disclosure. The families applaud her actions so far.
