Penny Mordaunt, a key figure in the Covid inquiry, revealed that her attempts to discuss Boris Johnson's deleted WhatsApp messages were ignored by his chief of staff. She later found out that messages from Michael Gove had also disappeared. Additionally, Downing Street suspected Matt Hancock of leaking details to the media, and it was disclosed that women's voices were heard for as little as 10 minutes in five hours of meetings during a crucial week of coronavirus policy. Mordaunt stated that it would cost £40,000 to investigate the disappearance of the messages, while a local repair shop quoted £60 plus a free case to repair the phone. The efficacy of lockdown measures and Jenny Harries's caution were also highlighted in the Covid inquiry documents.
Penny Mordaunt says Boris Johnson's Covid WhatsApp messages went missing https://t.co/BSbMmPFtt5
Interesting how many still cover the Covid inquiry assuming lockdown was obviously right - given now-well-documented harms and lack of any serious evidence on benefits. Efficacy of lockdown is a (very) open question and Jenny Harries’s caution looks well-placed. https://t.co/gjKHpjUFpp
Penny Mordaunt says it would cost £40,000 to determine why Boris Johnson’s Whatsapp messages mysteriously vanished from her phone. Owners of a local repair shop expressed their frustration, having quoted £60 plus a free case https://t.co/RZGPa7TVvT
NEW: Boris Johnson’s Downing Street was so “macho and egotistical” that women’s voices were heard for as little as 10 minutes in five hours of meetings during a key week of coronavirus policy, the Covid inquiry has heard. https://t.co/7DqufWcloL
Downing Street suspected Matt Hancock was the “chatty rat” who leaked details to the media of the second lockdown, private messages newly-released by the Covid inquiry have revealed 📱 @janemerrick23 reports https://t.co/YZag81iz6y
#CovidInquiry documents latest: No10 thought Matt Hancock was the "chatty rat" behind the leak of the second lockdown, Simon Case's text messages revealed @theipaper: https://t.co/RuK4VlmsGi
Amid the mass of documents uploaded to the Covid inquiry website is this email from 10 March 2020 by Jenny Harries to the then-head of comms at DHSC, pushing back against a Lancet editorial calling for quicker action. Was *anyone* in government more wrong than Jenny Harries? https://t.co/P85HH5wdOs
Jeez. 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 https://t.co/J1eX9fdWug
Penny Mordaunt says she contacted Boris Johnson's chief of staff 14 times about Johnson's deleted WhatsApp messages but was ignored, and then told she would have to pay for any investigation herself. She later discovered that messages from Michael Gove had also disappeared https://t.co/ZxnzWPWyd1