Sunak Tells Covid Inquiry He Cannot Access Whatsapps From His Time As Chancellor

Rishi Sunak has failed to hand over his WhatsApp messages from his time as chancellor to the Covid inquiry, despite the high court ruling that ministers should disclose their communications for scrutiny.

- Pippa Crerar

In his witness statement, seen by the Guardian, the prime minister claimed that he did "not have access" to the messages during his period running the Treasury because he had changed his phone several times and failed to back them up.

The inquiry, which begins hearing evidence today for its second stage examining the government's handling of the pandemic, had requested key communications sent during the pandemic, from the end of January 2020 to the end of February 2022.

Sunak became chancellor in February 2020 and his messages could include details of crucial decisions made by the Treasury including "eat out to help out", bounce-back loans and the furlough scheme.

Boris Johnson faced fierce criticism when he said he would hand over his WhatsApp messages only once government officials had assessed the safety of the device he was forced to discard in April 2021 for security reasons. In July, his spokesperson said the messages had now been retrieved and given to the inquiry.

However, the Guardian understands Johnson has told the inquiry he has been unable to access messages between 31 January and 7 June 2020, key dates in the first wave during which thousands of people died.