British ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to publish the government’s WhatsApp messages during the corona pandemic – much to the displeasure of Rishi Sunak.
London – In the dispute over WhatsApp messages from the time of the corona pandemic, British ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now going one step further. In a letter to the investigative committee that is supposed to review government action during the Corona period, Johnson announced that he would hand over the text messages directly to the committee. Like the British news agency PA reported, Johnson also states in the letter to the investigative committee that he also wants to publish more WhatsApp messages.
Boris Johnson wants to publish WhatsApp messages from Corona time
prime minister Rishi Sunak and his ministers, who were already active in Boris Johnson’s cabinet, are unlikely to like this at all. Until recently, the British government had refused to hand over Johnson’s correspondence with his government employees during the corona pandemic without censorship. The Government of Rishi Sunak referred to the privacy of those involved. The responsible government agency, the Cabinet Office, which is comparable in its function to the German Chancellery, allowed a deadline set by the committee of inquiry to expire on Thursday (June 1), despite threats of criminal penalties.
The agency even said it would go to court to see if the investigative body had the right to force the release of “undoubtedly irrelevant” news and documents. Boris Johnson had continued to put pressure on the Sunaks government and on Wednesday (31 May) embarrassed them by saying that he had handed over the WhatsApp messages, notebooks and calendar entries requested by the committee of inquiry to the Cabinet Office. This had previously claimed not to be in possession of the data.
Also the British newspaper The Guardians had reported, however, that Johnson had previously submitted his personal papers to the Cabinet Office for examination, but that the agency had found them irrelevant to the Commission. Because of the refusal of the government agency to pass on the correspondence, Johnson has now apparently chosen the direct route and turned to the investigative committee.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apparently fears WhatsApp content
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and some of his ministers who have been in the cabinet of Boris Johnson were apparently afraid of being put in a bad light by the publication of the text messages from the time of the corona pandemic. Text messages between Boris Johnson and then-Treasury Secretary Sunak, as well as other ministers during this time, could damage their public image. But the government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will because of their Blocking attitude towards the Corona investigation committee has already been heavily criticized.
The leader of the opposition Labor Party, Angela Rayner, spoke of a “desperate attempt to withhold evidence”. And the lawyer for the bereaved organization “Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice”, Elkan Abrahamson, accused the government of “complete disregard” of the investigation, like the BBC reported.
More WhatsApp messages from the pandemic period
Boris Johnson, who is said to have ambitions to return to power, continues to put pressure on the current government. In the letter to the committee of inquiry, he said he would provide more WhatsApp messages from the time the government would allow him access to his old cell phone. In 2021, Johnson had to turn off his cell phone after it was revealed he was using an old number that had been publicly available on the internet for 15 years.
Dealing with government communications in Great Britain has already caused astonishment. It is an open secret that in London even important agreements within the government are settled via WhatsApp. Content from more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages from former British Health Minister Matt Hancock only became public in March and left him in need of explanation. (kasa/dpa)
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