Covid inquiry chair ‘may have to quit’ if denied access to Johnson WhatsApps

The Cabinet Office has sought a judicial review of the demand for texts on phones owned by Boris Johnson and one of his advisers, as well as the former PM’s notebooks. Photograph: Alberto Pezzali/AP

The chair of the UK Covid-19 public inquiry may have to resign if the government succeeds in its high court attempt to block the unredacted disclosure of ministers’ WhatsApp messages, the lawyer representing thousands of bereaved families has said.

Elkan Abrahamson, who represents the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, which is a core participant at the inquiry, said the dispute between the government and the inquiry over texts and other documents had become “an existential struggle”.