Boris is bypassing the Cabinet Office and handing his diaries and WhatsApp messages directly to the Covid inquiry, after the government last night refused to hand over the material and instead announced it would take the inquiry to court. In a letter published this morning, Boris tells inquiry Chair Dame Hallett he is handing over “all unredacted WhatsApps I provided to the Cabinet Office” and would “like to do the same with any material that may be on an old phone which I have previously been told I can no longer access safely”:

“The government yesterday decided to take legal action. It was not my decision to do so. While I understand the government’s position, I am not willing to let my material become a test case for others when I am perfectly content for the inquiry to see it.

I am therefore providing the material directly to your Inquiry today in unredacted form.”

Read the full letter below: