UK government refuses to hand over Boris Johnson’s unredacted messages to coronavirus inquiry

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The British government is resisting an order to hand over a sheaf of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s personal messages to the country’s COVID-19 pandemic inquiry. It said Thursday that it will instead challenge the order in court, setting up an extraordinary legal battle with an inquiry that Johnson himself set up. The notebooks, diaries and WhatsApp messages form key evidence that the head of the probe wants to see. But the government has handed over incomplete versions. It says it cut personal and private information that is not relevant to the investigation. The head of the inquiry, retired judge Heather Hallett, says she wants to assess that for herself.