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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Peter Walker Deputy political editor

Penny Mordaunt: Boris Johnson’s messages vanished from my phone

Boris Johnson Penny Mordaunt Covid-19
Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt
Penny Mordaunt said she could find no messages to or from Boris Johnson between March 2018 and March 2020. Composite: AP Photp via Getty Images/AP Photo

Penny Mordaunt has told the Covid inquiry that a series of WhatsApp messages with Boris Johnson mysteriously disappeared from her phone, and that Johnson’s then chief of staff ignored 14 attempts by her to arrange a meeting to discuss the matter.

In a further twist to the saga of 5,000 WhatsApp messages lost by Johnson, Mordaunt said she was told by Cabinet Office officials it would cost about £40,000 to examine her phone to determine what had happened.

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