Former PM set for bitter legal battle after refusing to hand over unredacted pandemic messages and diaries
Good evening,
Downing Street has denied accusations of a cover-up over the release of Boris Johnson's WhatsApp messages to the Covid-19 public inquiry.
A spokesperson for the former PM said he had "no objection to disclosing the material", adding: "the decision to challenge the inquiry's position on redactions is for the Cabinet Office".
As the inquiry's chair, Baroness Hallett, insisted the messages must be handed over, the "standoff now appears to be heading for the extraordinary spectacle of a legal battle between the government and the inquiry", said Sky News.
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| TODAY'S BIG QUESTION | | Boris Johnson and other senior members of his government are likely to ignore a new legal deadline to hand over unredacted messages sent during the pandemic to the Covid-19 public inquiry.
Last week the inquiry's chair, Baroness Hallett, threatened legal action against the Cabinet Office unless it handed over diaries and WhatsApp exchanges involving the former prime minister from January 2020 to February 2022 by 4pm today.
Cabinet Office officials asked for an extension to 5 June, saying they do not have access to Johnson's messages or notebooks, but this request was rejected. Instead they have been given a new deadline of 4pm on Thursday 1 June.
If the government does not abide by the new deadline, Baroness Hallett "has ordered that a statement be sent by a 'senior civil servant' confirming the Cabinet Office does not have the requested information, as well as a chronology of the government's contacts with Johnson about the requests and whether the government has ever had the data", reported Sky News. |
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EXPERT'S VIEW | | Recep Tayyib Erdogan will remain president of Turkey for another five years after winning Sunday's run-off election over his long-time rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. If he serves the full five-year term, he will have held power for 26 years – almost the entire history of Turkey in the 21st century.
What is astonishing is how the majority of Turkish people elected Erdogan despite a worsening economy and now chronic hyperinflation that would likely bring down any government in a democratic country.
So, how did Erdogan win the election and, more significantly, what is likely to happen in the country in the foreseeable future? |
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TALKING POINT | | Government plan labelled 'hare-brained' as industry bosses warn it could lead to shortages |
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More from TheWeek.co.uk today | Russia claims Ukraine drone attack on Moscow
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WHAT THE SCIENTISTS ARE SAYING… | | A type of acupuncture that involves attaching tiny metal beads to the ears can help with weight loss, a study has found. In a three-month trial in Japan, overweight or obese men who had six beads, 1.5mm in diameter, taped to pressure points on their ears lost more than a stone, on average. "In Japan, this method to aid weight loss has been used for over 30 years," said study lead Dr Takahiro Fujimoto. "Since these beads are attached to six points on the outer ear that stimulate nerves and organs that regulate appetite, satiety and hunger, this type of acupuncture does not require complex knowledge or skill." Other scientists said the results were promising, but noted that the participants had been asked to limit their calorie intake and follow an exercise plan, and that there was no control group.
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T H E W E E K M A G A Z I N E |
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| Try The Week magazine today to get straight to the heart of the issues that matter, without angle or agenda. Our easily digestible format gives you the clarity and space to step away from the noise of the news. |
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statistic of the week | | The average family shopping bill will be £1,000 higher this year than in 2020.
The Daily Telegraph |
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| picture of the day | | China sent its first civilian astronaut into orbit today, as it launched the Shenzhou-16 mission to its space station, marking another important step in the country's ambitious space program.
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images |
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Good week for... | Cricket, which experts say is set to crack America for the first time when the Silicon Valley-backed Major League Cricket competition begins its first season in July. More than 40 international players have been lured to the US for the tournament and about £100 million has already been pledged in spending for the league. | |
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Bad week for... | Rock 'n' Roll, after the English band Royal Blood were criticised for calling a BBC festival crowd "pathetic" before storming off stage when only "nine people" applauded their performance. | |
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PUZZLES | | Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section |
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instant opinion | | Your digest of analysis from the British and international press from the past seven days
"For all their internecine conflicts and rivalries, hidden and visible, Arab leaders are again united around one sacred goal: aborting their people's aspirations for change," writes Soumaya Ghannoushi in The Guardian. Take Tunisia, for example. "Once seen as the last democratic hope of the Arab world", it has "turned from a fragile democracy into a country resembling a full-fledged dictatorship", she says. "It is a cocktail of failures, robbed of its hard-won freedoms, and thrust into a deep economic crisis." This is unfolding "in full sight of Europe, whose major capitals look the other way", Ghannoushi writes. "The message to the people of the region is loud and clear: democracy is not for them, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a naive idealist." |
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| THE BIG TRIP | | Perfectly located between the old and new towns, this chic hotel is a treasure in its own right |
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DOWN TO BUSINESS | Tuesday afternoon markets | Oil prices dipped by more than 3% today as mixed messages from major producers ahead of the Opec+ meeting this weekend made the supply outlook less clear.
FTSE 100: 7,535.57, down 1.20%
Dax: 15,944.26, down 0.05%
Dow: 32,970.96, down 0.37%
Dollar: £1 = $1.2404, up 0.43%
Euro: £1 = €1.1560, up 0.23%
Brent crude: $74.25, down 3.66%
Gold: $1,957.50, up 0.68% | |
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WIT & WISDOM | "With publicity comes humiliation." | Tama Janowitz, quoted in Forbes | |
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