- By Paul Seddon
- political reporter
7 June 2023 5:00pm BST
Updated 2 hours ago
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The BBC’s Chris Mason asks Rishi Sunak if he has anything to hide from the Covid probe
Rishi Sunak says he is not concerned that the messages viewed by the Covid investigation could be embarrassed, although there is a legal battle over their disclosure.
The government has taken the unprecedented step of suing the Commission of Inquiry over its demands to send unredacted WhatsApp messages during the pandemic.
However, the prime minister insisted his actions were transparent.
He added that he personally provided information and it took up “a lot of my free time.”
As part of the inquiry, requests were made to see undredacted messages on former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s phone between him and around 40 politicians and officials, including Mr Sunak.
However, the government says some of them are irrelevant to the work of the investigation and could compromise the privacy of individuals if shared uncensored.
Last week, the company took legal action against the investigation because the company demanded access to Mr Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApps and notebooks.
Speaking to BBC Political Editor Chris Mason during a two-day trip to the United States, Mr Sunak said he could not comment on the details as the case is ongoing.
But he insisted the government had acted with “openness and transparency,” including disclosing more than 55,000 documents so far, and “more are to come.”
When asked directly if he was afraid something would come out that would embarrass him personally, he replied, “No, not at all.”
“I am also cooperating and providing information in the investigation,” he added. “It’s actually taking up a lot of my time, and it’s right that I’m doing it.”
Labor Deputy Leader Angela Rayner questioned his response, writing on Twitter: “So why are you taking legal action to hide it?” [the messages]?”
Whatsapps argue
The inquiry, launched in May 2021, is looking into the government’s handling of the pandemic and is set to begin public hearings next week.
Mr Johnson said he was happy to share unredacted WhatsApps on his phone from May 2021, around a year into the pandemic response.
He says he won’t be able to deliver any messages until then because the messages are on his old phone, which he’s changed for security reasons.
However, he said he would like to work with security officials to find a way to ensure the messages get forwarded to the investigation.
On Tuesday, a lawyer for the Covid investigation said he had written to the Cabinet Office to get hold of the old device and confirm how it was to be “fully accessed”.
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The Prime Minister laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery on the first day of his trip to Washington DC
Elsewhere in his BBC interview, Mr Sunak said it was too early to give a “definitive answer” as to who was responsible for the damage to the Kakhovka Dam in Russian-occupied Ukraine, and British security officials continued their inquiries .
However, he added that if Russia were to be held responsible for the act, it would fit with a “pattern of behavior” it had displayed throughout the war, namely carrying out “deliberate attacks” on civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine blamed Russia for the dam breach, which led to the evacuation of thousands of people. Moscow denied responsibility, instead blaming Ukrainian shelling.
Mr Sunak also said the UK should have “confidence” in its ability to lead the world in regulating artificial intelligence (AI), an issue he will discuss with President Biden at a White House meeting on Thursday.
The Prime Minister hopes to put Britain at the forefront of a post-Brexit effort to set new global rules for the emerging technology.
Some pundits have questioned the UK’s ability to shape new global rules outside the European Union as the UK is now barred from key meetings between European and American regulators such as the Tech and Trade Council.
But Mr Sunak said the level of AI investment in the UK and the quality of UK research means it could influence “the discussion” about future rules.
“Apart from the US, there is no other democratic country that has such strength in AI,” he argued.