Johnson hands over WhatsApp history – pressuring Sunak Foreign firefighters to fight fires in Canada

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to immediately hand over his WhatsApp messages from the time of the corona pandemic to a committee of inquiry. The British news agency PA reports this on Friday on the basis of a letter from the conservative politician to the committee.

Johnson bypasses the current government of his party colleague Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Until recently, she had refused to hand over the ex-premier’s correspondence with government officials and cabinet colleagues without censorship. Despite threats of criminal prosecution, she let a deadline set by the investigative committee expire on Thursday and announced that she would go to court. But that seems pointless now.

With the move, Johnson continues on a confrontational course with the government. They must fear that the WhatsApp correspondence will also contain messages from Sunak and other ministers that could damage their image. Johnson, on the other hand, has little to lose. He had to resign as prime minister last summer because of ongoing scandals. He would have ambitions to return to the top of the government.

The corona investigation, led by former judge Lady Heather Hallett, is intended to address Johnson’s controversial approach to the corona pandemic.

It has long been an open secret that even important appointments within the government are handled via WhatsApp in London. The content of more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages from former Health Secretary Matt Hancock only became public in March and needed explanation. (saw/sda/dpa)