Former judge Heather Hallett, who chairs the independent inquiry into the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, has warned the Prime Minister’s Office to hand over messages sent by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Hallett has demanded the handover of all messages sent by Johnson and a former Downing Street aide, Henry Cook, to up to 40 people on the WhatsApp app, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as well as diaries and notes taken by the former ‘premier’ between January 1, 2020 and February 24, 2022.
The president of the independent investigation has argued that “all content” is “potentially relevant” and has warned the Office that not delivering the documents “is a criminal offense” punishable by a fine of up to 1,000 pounds sterling (1,149 euros). and a prison sentence of a maximum of 51 weeks.
In this sense, Hallet has accused the British officials of the Office of misinterpreting the breadth of their investigation and has set next Tuesday as the deadline for the delivery of all the requested material, as reported by the newspaper ‘The Times’.
The Office refused to hand over the messages, stating that the material Hallett demanded was “irrelevant” to the investigation, as it could divulge personal information and details of other government business of the Executive.
In this sense, the Office has insisted that “all relevant material”, a total of 55,000 documents and 24 sworn witness statements, has been delivered “in accordance with the law”, according to what Sky News has collected.
The scandal over the parties held in Downing Street during the pandemic and known as ‘Partygate’ ended up accelerating Johnson’s resignation on September 6, 2021, amid pressure from his own colleagues due to the discredit that the Conservative Party was acquiring for this and other scandals under his tenure.
2023-05-24 19:00:50
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