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LONDON — Boris Johnson severed ties with the government-appointed lawyers who were set to represent him in the U.K.’s coronavirus inquiry, in the wake of a row over alleged breaches of lockdown rules.
In a letter to the official probe into the U.K.’s handling of the pandemic, the ex-British prime minister wrote that he is “currently instructing new solicitors to represent me in the inquiry” and that he is now “unrepresented” as he seeks public funding for his legal bills.
It comes after Johnson was referred to police for a second time when his own legal team raised concerns with the U.K. government’s Cabinet Office that he may have breached COVID lockdown rules.
The former Conservative leader faces an investigation by the Metropolitan and Thames Valley Police following suggestions, first reported by the Times, that fresh potential incidents of rule-breaking were unearthed by his lawyers during preparations for the official inquiry.
The news Johnson had been referred to the police prompted fresh Conservative infighting in Westminster.
Johnson’s office issued a punchy statement Wednesday night accusing successor Rishi Sunak’s government of “a politically motivated stitch-up” by making “unfounded suggestions both to the police and to the privileges committee,” a team of MPs carrying out its own probe into Johnson’s conduct.
The Cabinet Office denied there had been any involvement from government ministers in the referral.
A spokesman said: “The Cabinet Office has not made any assessment or conducted any investigation of the material that has been passed to the police. Ministers played no role in deciding whether the information should be handed over to the police.”
WhatsApp fight
Elsewhere, the body in charge of the official public inquiry is locked in its own fight with the Cabinet Office.
It has threatened legal action over the department’s refusal to share unredacted information about Johnson’s handling of the pandemic with the inquiry.
In an April notice first published Wednesday, inquiry chair Heather Hallett requested copies of Johnson’s WhatsApp communications, diaries and notebooks without heavy redactions. Documents show that the Cabinet Office initially rejected that request and contended that it was unlawful.
In response, Hallett said she believed the initial order was within the law and reiterated that failure to comply without reasonable excuse would be a criminal offense.
