LONDON: Two UK judges on Thursday turned down a government request to withhold documents of ex-prime minister Boris Johnson from a public inquiry probing the handling of the coronavirus pandemic response.

The Cabinet Office, which works across the executive coordinating government activity, opposed the release of Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages, diaries and notebooks.

But the High Court judges ruled that Heather Hallett, who chairs the inquiry, “acted rationally” when making the order and that the diaries and notebooks were “very likely to contain information about decision-making” during the pandemic. They said documents found by the inquiry to be “obviously irrelevant” will be returned.

The materials must be handed over to the inquiry by 4pm on July 10, according to a spokesperson for Hallett. The government said it will “comply fully” and work towards “an arrangement that respects the privacy of individuals and ensures completely irrelevant information is returned and not retained”.

Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the main opposition Labour party, said the judgment was a “humiliating defeat” for the government and accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of “wasting time and taxpayers’ money on doomed legal battles”.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2023