Latest updates: Government seeking judicial review arguing it should have right to hold back ‘unambiguously irrelevant’ material
Good morning. He had a terrible day in court yesterday. Not Prince Harry (or not just Prince Harry) – from the government’s point of view, it was Nicholas Chapman’s performance that should be a lot more worrying. Chapman was representing the Cabinet Office in the Covid inquiry (not quite a court – but very similar, and as good as), and he was unable to defend the government’s position in terms of releasing documents to the inquiry – because it’s all a muddle. Asked to explain the Cabinet Office’s position on redacting documents from Boris Johnson that Johnson says should go to the inquiry unredacted, he replied: “The position is that the Cabinet Office is working out its position.”
Officially, the government is still going to court because it does not accept the demand from the inquiry that it should submit all WhatsApp messages from Johnson and others to the inquiry so that the inquiry itself can work out what is relevant. It is seeking judicial review, arguing that it should have the right to hold back “unambiguously irrelevant” material. Heather Hallett, the inquiry chair, says that it should be up to her to decide what is irrelevant, and that of course irrelevant material won’t be disclosed.
My understanding this is some clarification that is being sought. Obviously, the use of WhatsApp and the way modern communication was used [during the pandemic] was a new area, to some extent, in terms of government, and the way government business was conducted. And the Cabinet Office wants to clarify some points around that.
I think there’s some small, technical questions that are being clarified by the Cabinet Office.
It’s a long, long time since I practiced as a lawyer. I don’t want to stray into legal questions that a better placed for others to explore.
