UK government loses legal bid to keep Boris Johnson’s messages from COVID-19 investigation

LONDON (AP) — A UK court on Thursday rejected a British government request to block former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s unedited diaries and WhatsApp messages from being made public at an official meeting. COVID-19 consultation.

The Cabinet Office took the unusual step of file a legal challenge after the retired judge presiding over Britain’s inquiry managing the coronavirus pandemic he ordered the Conservative government to release full copies of Johnson’s documents.

Government officials argued that the investigation did not have the legal power to compel them to release documents and messages that they said were “unambiguously irrelevant” to like the government handled COVID-19.

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But lawyers for the investigation said the idea that public officials could decide what material was relevant would undermine public confidence in the process.

The judges who ruled in the Cabinet Office case said it was highly likely that Johnson’s diaries and notebooks “contained information about decision-making” in relation to the pandemic.

A spokesman said the government would fully comply with the ruling and work with the investigation to ensure the privacy of those involved is protected.

Johnson, who was prime minister during the COVID-19 pandemic, agreed in late 2021 to conduct an investigation into how the government handled the spread of the virus.

Johnson turned over some of his raw notebooks along with diaries and WhatsApp messages to the investigation at the end of May.

COVID-19 was recorded as the cause of death for nearly 227,000 people in the UK, one of the highest pandemic death tolls in Europe. The grieving families of some of the people who died lobbied the government to authorize an investigation.

Heather Hallett, the retired judge leading the investigation, has the power to call witnesses, including high-ranking politicians, to testify under oath in open court.

The COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group said it was a “disgrace” for the Cabinet Office to try to obstruct the work of the investigation.

“This judicial review was a desperate waste of time and money. The investigation must get to the facts if the country is to learn lessons that will save lives in the future,” said the group’s spokeswoman, Deborah Doyle.