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Reuters
Reuters
Business
By Sachin Ravikumar and Alistair Smout

UK government refuses to hand over WhatsApp messages to COVID inquiry

​​Rishi Sunak Covid-19 Pandemic
FILE PHOTO: Rishi Sunak arrives at Downing Street in London, Britain February 13, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government on Thursday said it would not hand over internal WhatsApp messages requested by a public inquiry into its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and instead seek a legal challenge against the demand.

The inquiry, ordered by the government itself in 2021 and chaired by a former judge, had given the government a 1500 GMT deadline to hand over the documents.

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