Rishi Sunak has made a big mistake by blocking the release of Boris Johnson’s WhatsApps, giving the former prime minister a chance to “enjoy” a divisive row, a senior Tory peer has warned.
Gavin Barwell, former No 10 chief of staff, said Mr Sunak was wrong to take legal action against the Covid inquiry because it had invited suspicion about the government’s true motives for protecting the messages.
“The sense you get is Boris is enjoying this – enjoying making life more awkward for Sunak,” Lord Barwell told The Independent.
Johnson allies have claimed that Mr Sunak was refusing to hand over messages due to fears they could show plots against the former prime minister or embarrassing details about the exchancellor’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme.
One Johnson ally told the Mail on Sunday: “What is Rishi hiding? Is it plotting against Boris with Dominic Cummings? Is it because he himself broke lockdown rules? Or does he fear that his Eat Out to Help Out scheme led to a significant number of deaths?”
Lord Barwell, Theresa May’s former chief of staff, dismissed the Johnson camp’s “psychodrama”, but added: “Whether there is something in the WhatsApps that Johnson knows will be embarrassing for Sunak, I don’t know.”
The Tory peer said he believed the government legal action was “driven by the civil servants as much as the politicians” – but warned that the perception that Mr Sunak and other ministers may have something to hide was damaging.
“It’s not a great look for the government, clearly,” said Lord Barwell. “If you think about those lost loved ones, it’s not going to instil confidence in them.
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