British government faces deadline in Boris Johnson COVID-19 inquiry

The British government is under pressure to deliver a collection of personal messages exchanged by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other officials to the country's COVID-19 pandemic inquiry. Failure to comply with the request by retired judge Heather Hallett, who heads the probe, may result in legal action against the government – a probe that Johnson himself initiated.

The documents in question include Johnson's notebooks, diaries, and WhatsApp messages, which are considered vital evidence for the investigation. However, the government is apprehensive about the potential ramifications of disclosing Johnson's unredacted conversations, raising concerns about the precedent it may set.

To date, the government has submitted incomplete versions of the documents, asserting that personal and private information unrelated to the inquiry has been redacted. Hallett, however, insists that the entirety of the specified documents is potentially relevant to the lines of investigation pursued by the inquiry.

In a firm move, Hallett, who possesses the authority to summon evidence and question witnesses under oath, has set a deadline of 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Thursday for the government to provide the requested materials, which will cover a two-year period from the beginning of 2020.

The standoff over the documents has exacerbated tensions between Johnson and the current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak's government. Sunak's administration recently stated that it did not possess the material demanded by Hallett.

In response, Johnson's office issued a statement on Wednesday, affirming that the former prime minister had handed over all the relevant material to the government. Johnson's office further urged the authorities to promptly deliver the requested documents to the inquiry.

The United Kingdom has witnessed over 200,000 deaths among individuals testing positive for COVID-19, ranking among the highest tolls in Europe. Consequently, the decisions made by Johnson's government throughout the pandemic have been subjected to extensive scrutiny and debate. Under mounting pressure from bereaved families, Johnson agreed in late 2021 to establish an inquiry to examine the government's handling of the crisis.

Scheduled to commence on June 13, Hallett's inquiry aims to investigate the UK's preparedness for a pandemic, assess the government's response, and determine whether the level of loss was unavoidable or could have been mitigated with better decision-making. Among the senior officials expected to testify during the public hearings, Boris Johnson himself will face questioning regarding his actions and decisions throughout the pandemic.

As the deadline looms, the fate of Boris Johnson's personal messages and their potential impact on the inquiry remains uncertain. The outcome of this showdown between the government and the probe will significantly shape the narrative surrounding the UK's pandemic response and shed light on the accountability of its former leader.