Covid inquiry chairwoman anticipated to deal with ministers’ High Court problem
T
he chairwoman of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry is predicted to reply for the primary time to a High Court problem of her request for Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages.
Baroness Heather Hallett is because of maintain a preliminary inquiry listening to on Tuesday during which she is about to deal with ministers’ determination to carry ahead a judicial overview.
The retired senior decide’s deadline for the UK Government at hand over the previous prime minister’s WhatsApp messages and notebooks in an unredacted format was missed by the Cabinet Office final week, with ministers as an alternative asserting plans to problem the request within the courts.
It wouldn’t be acceptable for me to touch upon this ongoing authorized course of
Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin regarded to defend the transfer within the Commons on Monday, telling MPs that the High Court case would imply it was attorneys and never politicians who would determine “what is and what is not relevant information” for the inquiry.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has refused to touch upon the row over Mr Johnson’s messages.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment on this ongoing legal process,” Mr Sunak advised The Daily Telegraph.
Mr Quin advised MPs that he anticipated judges to listen to the Government’s judicial overview “very soon”, with a listening to “on or shortly after June 30”.
He denied accusations of a cover-up, saying that each one Government correspondence referring to the dealing with of the coronavirus pandemic can be “made transparently available” to Lady Hallett’s investigation.
But he repeated the Cabinet Office’s argument that the inquiry, in its request for Mr Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp correspondence and written notes, was asking for info ministers deemed to be “unambiguously irrelevant” and that had “nothing to do with Covid” decision-making.
Conservative MPs criticised the Government’s place, nevertheless, arguing it ought to be for Lady Hallett to determine what was related to her investigation.
Veteran MP Sir Edward Leigh stated: “Let them have what they want and let’s get to the truth.”
Elkan Abrahamson, a solicitor representing the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice marketing campaign group on the inquiry, stated the “only logical response” if chairwoman Lady Hallett doesn’t get entry to the fabric is for her to step down “because she can’t properly do her job”.
During Tuesday’s preliminary listening to, Lady Hallett is because of deal with Module 2 of the inquiry, which can look into core political and administrative determination making by the UK Government.
Preliminary hearings are for consideration of how the investigation ought to be run quite than taking proof.
The first proof session is because of happen subsequent week, with Lady Hallett set to listen to from witnesses concerning the UK’s pandemic preparedness and resilience as a part of her Module 1 investigation.
Public hearings are scheduled to conclude by summer season 2026, with interim reviews printed earlier than then.
Lady Hallett hopes to publish reviews for Module 1 and a couple of subsequent 12 months, in line with the inquiry’s web site.