The Cabinet Office has lost its legal battle to withhold Boris’s unredacted WhatsApp messages and diaries from the Covid inquiry. In a judgement today, the High Court ruled the materials must now be handed over to inquiry chair Heather Hallett, as there were no “reasonable” reasons not to do so. Another blow for Rishi…

The Cabinet Office has responded:

“The Inquiry is an important step to learn lessons from the pandemic and the Government is cooperating in the spirit of candour and transparency.

As this judgment acknowledges, our judicial review application was valid as it raised issues over the application of the Inquiries Act 2005 that have now been clarified. The Court’s judgment is a sensible resolution and will mean that the Inquiry Chair is able to see the information she may deem relevant, but we can work together to have an arrangement that respects the privacy of individuals and ensures completely irrelevant information is returned and not retained.

We will comply fully with this judgment and will now work with the Inquiry team on the practical arrangements.”

Time to hand ’em over…

Read the full judgement below: