Rishi Sunak has challenged the official Covid investigation and has called for a "judicial review" of the requirement to hand over Boris Johnson's diaries, messages and WhatsApp messages during the pandemic. Baroness Heather Hallet, in charge of the investigation, had stipulated the deadline of Thursday for the delivery of the evidence related to the former "premier", in the midst of a political turmoil and before the already inevitable judicial battle with the executive.
"It is important that we learn the lessons of Covid to be better prepared for the future," said Sunak from Moldova, where he was attending the European summit. "We are doing everything possible in the spirit of transparency and openness," he assured, hours before the Cabinet Ministry made public the decision not to deliver Johnson's WhatsApp messages, alleging "important issues of principle" in the operation of the Government.
Curiously, Boris Johnson himself had stepped forward on Wednesday and had made his notebooks and all messages addressed during the pandemic to at least 40 people, including advisers and cabinet members, including Rishi himself, available to the Sunak government. Sunak (when he was acting as Secretary of the Treasury).
The former prime minister tried to settle the controversy by claiming his willingness to "fully cooperate with the investigation" and to provide all the information about his work at the helm of the Government during the pandemic, which to date has caused more than 226,000 deaths in the United Kingdom ( one of the European countries with the highest mortality).
The request for the former "premier's" WhatsApp, however, created an internal conflict within the Sunak government and faced opposition from various ministers who could see their performance compromised and who allege that it could create a dangerous precedent.
The Cabinet Ministry warns that the delivery of internal messages between the "premier" and members of the Government contain "information not connected to Covid" and "totally irrelevant to the work of the investigation" led by Heather Hallet. Even so, the Sunak government stresses its intention to "fully cooperate" with the investigation while the "judicial review" is resolved.
The head of Energy Grant Shapps, who served as Johnson's Secretary of Transportation, was nevertheless in favor of full transparency and the delivery of the former "premier's" messages: "There is nothing to be ashamed of. There are things we did very well and things we did wrong. The investigation has to get to the bottom of it."
Labor number two, Angela Rayner, for her part accused the Sunak government of "having run out of excuses" and of "trying to hide the truth." "If other ministers are resorting to techniques to try to escape public scrutiny of the (Covid) investigation, it is becoming increasingly clear that they cannot continue in their post."
"They cannot continue to use Boris Johnson as an excuse to prevent the delivery of vital evidence for the investigation," said Liberal-Democrat Christine Jardine. "The families of the deceased want answers. They deserve much more than a new 'patch' from the Conservative government."
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