Politics latest news: No10 denies 'cover-up' over disclosure of Boris Johnson's Covid WhatsApp messages
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Downing Street has denied accusations of a "cover-up" over its handling of the disclosure of evidence to the formal Covid inquiry as a deadline for handing over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and diaries was extended.
The inquiry announced this morning that it had pushed back the deadline for the Cabinet Office to submit the unredacted pandemic-related material from 4pm today to 4pm on June 1, following a formal request from the Government.
The inquiry revealed it had been told by the Government that the Cabinet Office "does not have in its possession either Mr Johnson's WhatsApp messages or Mr Johnson's notebooks" as the wrangling over the disclosure continued.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said he has "no objection to disclosing material to the inquiry" and the decision to "challenge the inquiry’s position on redactions is for the Cabinet Office".
The Cabinet Office rejected the original request from the inquiry for the unredacted information, arguing it had no duty to disclose "unambiguously irrelevant" material. But the inquiry remains insistent that all of the material must be handed over.
Critics have accused the Government of a potential "cover-up" but that characterisation was rejected by No10 at lunchtime.
Asked if it was a "cover-up", the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said: "No. We want to learn the lessons about the actions of the state during the pandemic, we want that to be done rigorously and candidly."
You can follow the latest updates below.
04:00 PM
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03:38 PM
Home Office staff threaten to strike over Rwanda deportation policy
Home Office civil servants are threatening potential strike action over the Government’s Rwanda deportation policy and small boats legislation.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which represents nearly 16,000 staff in the Home Office and Border Force, said it was "going to have to consider" industrial action if members were forced to implement measures that they believe to be unlawful.
You can read the full story here.
03:05 PM
Trade talks will not feature when Sunak meets Biden
A post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and the US will not be on the agenda when Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden meet for talks in Washington DC next week (see the post below at 14.02).
The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said: "We are not seeking to pursue a free-trade deal with the US currently. We know that no trade partnership is more important than the one we have with the US, it’s our largest trading partner.
"It’s worth remembering the trade relationship, as it currently stands, is worth £279 billion already. We have achieved all of that without an FTA."
The Government is targeting trade deals with individual US states instead. Trade agreements have already been signed with North Carolina, South Carolina and Indiana, and the UK is speaking to Utah, Oklahoma, Texas and California.
02:02 PM
Rishi Sunak to hold talks with Joe Biden in Washington DC next week
Rishi Sunak will visit Washington DC next week for talks with Joe Biden, Downing Street has announced.
The Prime Minister will be in the US on June 7-8 when he will meet the US President as well as congressional figures and US business leaders. It will be Mr Sunak's first visit to Washington DC as Prime Minister.
The PM's Official Spokesman said: "The visit will be an opportunity to build on discussions the Prime Minister and President Biden have had in recent months about enhancing the level of co-operation and co-ordination between the UK and US on the economic challenges that will define our future, including securing our supply chains and transitioning to zero-carbon economies.
"It will also be an opportunity to discuss issues including sustaining our support for Ukraine as we build on the success of our G7 summit in the run-up to the Nato summit in July."
01:47 PM
Labour accuses Government of deploying ‘delaying tactics’ amid Covid inquiry row
Angela Rayner accused the Government of deploying "delaying tactics" as she responded to the Covid inquiry extending the deadline for the Cabinet Office to hand over Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages.
The deputy Labour leader said: "The fact the Covid inquiry has invoked legal powers to compel the handover of crucial documents in the face of legal battles and delaying tactics shows this is a Government with much to hide.
"It now appears that vital evidence has gone missing. It must be found and handed over as requested if the whiff of a cover-up is to be avoided and bereaved families are to get the answers they deserve.
"It is for the Covid inquiry itself rather than Conservative ministers to decide what is and is not relevant material for its investigation, and this interference only serves to undermine the inquiry's crucial job of getting to the truth."
01:10 PM
Official Covid inquiry will not conclude public evidence hearings until summer 2026
The official Covid inquiry today announced that its aim is to finish public evidence hearings by the summer of 2026.
The inquiry has already opened three separate modules for investigation: One on pandemic preparedness, one on core political and administrative decision-making, and one on the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems.
It has also now announced a further three areas which will be investigated and the rough timings for doing so.
Module four will open on June 5 this year and look at vaccines, therapeutics and anti-viral treatments. Module five will open in October this year and look at government procurement. Module six will open in December and look at the care sector.
The evidence sessions for the three new modules are not due to get underway until the summer of 2024 at the earliest: For module four evidence is expected to be heard in summer 2024, for module five it is early 2025, and for module six it is spring 2025.
This means that two of the most controversial pandemic topics - government procurement and the approach taken on care homes - will not be dealt with until after the next general election.
12:39 PM
No meeting planned between Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson
Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson are not scheduled to meet this week after reports they would hold clear-the-air talks amid a row over the Covid inquiry.
It is understood there had been initial discussions about holding a telephone call but this is not scheduled to go ahead as it stands.
12:37 PM
Downing Street denies claims of 'cover-up' amid Covid inquiry row
Downing Street has denied the row over the disclosure of Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks to the Covid-19 inquiry was a cover-up to save ministers from embarrassment.
Responding to criticism from former head of the Civil Service Lord Kerslake (see the post below at 08.55), the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said: "No.
"We want to learn the lessons about the actions of the state during the pandemic, we want that to be done rigorously and candidly."
12:14 PM
Pictured: Rishi Sunak observes a test on a vaping product during a visit to Kent this morning
12:00 PM
Free vapes for children to be banned
Rishi Sunak has announced a ban on rogue firms who target children with colourful free samples of vapes.
It comes after recent NHS figures showed that nine per cent of 11 to 15-year-old children used e-cigarettes in 2021 - up from six per cent in 2018.
Selling vapes to under 18s is illegal, but a loophole exists allowing unscrupulous businesses to give out free samples of vaping products.
You can read the full story here.
11:16 AM
Boris Johnson has 'no objection to disclosing material' to the Covid inquiry
Boris Johnson has insisted he does not object to disclosing evidence to the Covid-19 inquiry.
A spokesman for the former prime minister said: "Mr Johnson has no objection to disclosing material to the inquiry. He has done so and will continue to do so.
"The decision to challenge the inquiry’s position on redactions is for the Cabinet Office."
11:15 AM
Covid inquiry extends deadline for Government to hand over Boris Johnson's WhatsApp messages
The Covid inquiry has extended a deadline for the Government to hand over Boris Johnson's unredacted pandemic-related WhatsApp messages and diaries.
The deadline had been set for 4pm today but it has now been pushed back to 4pm on Thursday June 1 following a request from the Government.
The inquiry said in an update published this morning that the Cabinet Office had informed it last Friday that it was not actually in possession of the unredacted material.
It said that "the inquiry was informed that the Cabinet Office does not have in its possession either Mr Johnson's WhatsApp messages or Mr Johnson's notebooks, as sought in the original section 21 Notice".
10:43 AM
Rishi Sunak 'confident' in Government's approach on WhatsApp messages amid Covid inquiry row
Rishi Sunak said he was "confident" in the Government’s approach in response to a request to hand over ministers’ WhatsApp messages to the official Covid inquiry amid a legal stand-off (see the post below at 08.32).
The Prime Minister told broadcasters in Kent: "I think it’s really important that we learn the lessons of Covid and that’s why the inquiry was established.
"We want to make sure that whatever lessons there are to be learned are learned and we do that in a spirit of transparency and candour."
He added: "With regard to the specific question at the moment, the Government is carefully considering its position but it is confident in the approach that it’s taking."
10:40 AM
Penny Mordaunt's popularity soars after wielding sword at King's Coronation
Penny Mordaunt's popularity has surged among Tory grassroots since her sword-carrying role at the King's Coronation.
The Tory MP for Portsmouth North was widely praised for how she carried out her official duties as Lord President of the Privy Council at the crowning ceremony earlier this month.
Conservative Home's latest survey of Tory members for May shows that Ms Mordaunt has risen to the second most popular minister in Rishi Sunak's Cabinet, up from fourth place last month.
You can read the full story here.
10:19 AM
‘It is your job to preserve the functioning of government for the future’
Lord Hague said it was "understandable" that the official Covid inquiry wanted ministers' unredacted pandemic WhatsApp messages.
But the former Cabinet minister suggested handing them over could damage the future functioning of government.
He told Times Radio: "Well, of course, it helps to find out who said what to who and why they made a decision.
"If you are chairing an inquiry like this your purpose is this inquiry, to produce the absolutely all-singing-all-dancing report on this inquiry. That is understandable.
"I don’t really blame her [inquiry chair Baroness Hallett] for asking for this. But if you are the Government, if you are the Cabinet Office, the Cabinet Secretary, it is your job to preserve the functioning of government for the future and I come down on preserving the functioning of government."
09:56 AM
Lord Hague warns against handing over unredacted WhatsApps to Covid inquiry
Handing over unredacted WhatsApp messages to the official Covid inquiry could hamper the government’s response to a future crisis, Lord Hague has argued.
The former Tory leader said ministers and officials would be less likely to exchange honest and forthright views in private if they knew the messages could later be made public.
The Government is planning to refuse to hand over ministers’ unredacted pandemic-related WhatsApps to the inquiry despite a formal request to do so.
Asked if he believed the messages should be handed over, Lord Hague told Times Radio: "I think that the problem here is the precedent set for the future. When you are in a crisis, and I have been in a few, what you most need is people who will give you honest, uninhibited advice, who will say ‘actually what my boss told you just now is wrong’ or ‘actually I have a completely different view to what everybody just said in that meeting’.
"A lot of that takes place on WhatsApp now and I think that if those messages are all then to be given to an inquiry, people are, they are going to be less likely to give that honest advice in the future."
09:34 AM
Pictured: Boris Johnson goes for a run in Oxfordshire this morning
09:09 AM
Starmer ahead of Sunak on question of best PM
Sir Keir Starmer has an eight point lead over Rishi Sunak on the question of who voters believe would make the better prime minister, a new poll has found.
A Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey conducted on May 28 asked which of the leaders people believed would make the better premier.
Some 42 per cent of voters picked Sir Keir, up by four points when compared to a previous poll carried out on May 21, while 34 per cent picked Mr Sunak, which was unchanged.
08:55 AM
Government accused of ‘cover-up’ amid Covid inquiry WhatsApp row
Lord Kerslake, the former head of the Civil Service, said there appeared to be attempts at a "cover-up" by the Government as it plans to refuse to hand over ministers’ unredacted Whatsapps to the official Covid inquiry.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: "There is some cover-up going on here to save embarrassment of ministers. But there’s also the Cabinet Office fighting for a principle of confidentiality.
"I have to say I think they’re misguided on this occasion. I actually think it would set a helpful precedent if Lady Hallett prevailed in this fight about the information.
"We are in a bit of a mess at the moment, we don’t really know whether WhatsApp’s been used as a decision-making tool or, indeed, as just an information-sharing device."
Lord Kerslake said he believed the "predominant pressure is the Cabinet Office trying to protect confidentiality beyond what I think is necessary".
08:32 AM
Covid inquiry faces court battle over ministers’ WhatsApps
The Covid inquiry is set for a court battle with the Cabinet Office over government officials' plans to refuse to hand over ministers’ WhatsApps.
The inquiry has lodged a request for unredacted copies of Boris Johnson’s messages and 24 diaries from between January 2020 and February 2022.
Baroness Hallett, the inquiry’s chair, threatened legal action last week after the Cabinet Office refused to provide WhatsApp exchanges involving the former prime minister.
She gave the Government until 4pm today to produce the messages. However, The Telegraph understands that the Cabinet Office does not intend to supply them.
A senior Whitehall source said the Government was "confident" in its position that the messages are irrelevant to the then prime minister’s role in the pandemic.
You can read the full story here.
08:29 AM
Labour extends poll lead over Tories to 15 points
Labour has extended its poll lead over the Conservative Party to 15 points, according to a new survey conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies.
The poll, which was carried out on May 28, puts Labour on 43 per cent, up by one on a poll conducted on May 21, while the Tories were on 28 per cent, down by two.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats were on 12 per cent, down by one point, and the Green Party was up by three to seven per cent.
08:19 AM
Poll: Rishi Sunak’s popularity sinks to three month low
Rishi Sunak's approval rating among voters has sunk to its lowest level in three months as Labour extended its poll lead over the Tories.
A Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey conducted on May 28 found that 44 per cent of voters disapproved of Mr Sunak's performance as Prime Minister, up by three points on last week, while 30 per cent approved which was unchanged.
Rishi Sunak's approval rating is -14%, his lowest rating since 26 February.
Rishi Sunak Approval Rating (28 May):
Disapprove: 44% (+3)
Approve: 30% (–)
Net: -14% (-3)
Changes +/- 21 Mayhttps://t.co/WWfApTpyI2 pic.twitter.com/ZlUsRxugX2— Redfield & Wilton Strategies (@RedfieldWilton) May 29, 2023
That gave the premier an approval rating of minus 14 which was his lowest since February 26.
In contrast, Sir Keir Starmer was in positive territory with an approval rating of plus eight. Some 37 per cent of voters approved of his performance as Labour leader while 29 per cent disapproved.
