Officials are preparing to issue a response to the inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, by 4pm today. Sources said they would probably push back against her demand for a suite of documents relating to the former prime minister's time in No 10.
A meeting between Rishi Sunak and Johnson is expected to be held this week which, according to sources, will allow them to clear the air over new Partygate evidence being handed to police. While Hallett has demanded the full cache of messages and diaries be handed over to her inquiry two weeks ahead of the first public evidence sessions, the government is refusing to comply.
Lawyers for the Cabinet Office are said to have advised that the Covid inquiry does not have the powers to request access to all documents, raising the prospect of legal arbitration and a potential judicial review.
Launching a legal challenge against the ruling by the head of a public inquiry would be unprecedented, sources said.
Government insiders denied they would be delaying the next stage of the Covid inquiry, with hearings due to begin in two weeks on pandemic prepardeness, with former Tory ministers such as David Cameron and George Osborne giving evidence.
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