Author: UK News

UK POLITICS LIVE: Boris Johnson says he does not oppose giving information to Covid inquiry The Guardian says the Covid-19 inquiry has extended the deadline for evidence to be submitted, amid an ongoing tug-of-war over whether Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and notebooks will be handed over to it. The previous deadline had been 4pm today, but after a request to delay it for a week until 5 June, the chair of the inquiry has granted a “short extension” until 4pm on Thursday. The Cabinet Office has so far refused to hand over the documents. The notice released on Tuesday said…

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Ministers accused of ‘cover up’ over refusal to hand over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApps The Independent says Pressure on Rishi Sunak to reveal Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages during the Covid crisis mounted today as an ex-mandarin accused the government of a “cover up”. Lord Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, backed demands for the Cabinet Office to drop its refusal to hand over Mr Johnson’s unredacted Whatsapps to the official Covid inquiry. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he agreed that protecting ministerial confidentiality was important but added: “There is some cover-up going on here to save embarrassment…

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Cabinet Office doesn’t have Boris’s WhatsApps as Covid inquiry deadline extended The Metro says The deadline for the Government to hand over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages, diaries and notebooks to the Covid-19 inquiry has been extended as officials claimed they did not have all the documents demanded. The Cabinet Office had been given until 4pm on Tuesday to comply with the order from Lady Hallett’s public inquiry, but that deadline has now been extended to the same time on Thursday. Officials told her the Cabinet Office does not have the WhatsApp messages or notebooks called for by the inquiry. A…

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Boris Johnson: Deadline approaches to hand over WhatsApps to Covid inquiry The deadline for the government to hand over Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages and diary entries for the public Covid-19 inquiry is fast approaching. The government have until 16:00 today.  The public inquiry, set to commence hearings in two weeks, will include testimonies from former PM Boris Johnson and others. But at present, the Cabinet Office has provided the former prime minister’s messages with significant portions blacked out or redacted.  The inquiry says the failure to release the unredacted material would constitute a criminal offence. But Downing Street argues…

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Coffee and chocolate help drive supermarket prices higher In the year leading up to May, the rate of price increases at supermarkets in the UK reached a new peak, primarily driven by rising costs of coffee, chocolate, and non-food items. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ, inflation in grocery stores reached 9% overall. While prices for fresh food experienced a slight decline, the costs of commodities like coffee and cocoa witnessed significant jumps. Discussions are underway within the government regarding the possibility of requesting supermarkets to impose price caps on food items to tackle the rising cost…

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