Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Boris Johnson gets summaries of sensitive government material via Facebook’s WhatsApp

Boris Johnson gets summaries of sensitive government material via Facebook’s WhatsApp

Boris Johnson gets details of vital government business sent to him via WhatsApp, court papers have revealed.

The material, from the PM's ministerial "red box", is sent to his phone for "administrative ease", officials say, and does not break the rules.

But campaigners challenging "government by WhatsApp" in the High Court say it is a security risk.

They claim the use of insecure apps and message deletion by ministers and officials is "rampant".

Campaigning law groups the Good Law Project and Foxglove are challenging the government's use of such services in the High Court, saying that it breaks the law on keeping public records.

The government says it has secure channels for exchanging sensitive information, and ministers are obliged to record important decision-making discussions with officials.

'Private device'


Documents released on the first of a three-day judicial review reveal:

* From November 2020 onwards, Boris Johnson has been sent a summary of "red box" material, including diary updates, via WhatsApp

* The PM and other senior ministers downloaded Signal - an app that can instantly delete messages - to their phones. Signal has now been removed from Mr Johnson's device and the No 10 app store

* At least one of the six Cabinet Office senior civil servants used Signal on their private device to communicate with colleagues

* No official record has been made of the WhatsApp messages screenshot by former aide Dominic Cummings, revealing March 2020 discussions about Covid

The screenshot messages, published by Mr Cummings on his blog, include discussions with the PM on the procurement of ventilators, testing in care homes, and Mr Johnson's description of then health secretary Matt Hancock as "hopeless".

No official record has been kept of these messages


It also emerged that all messages on Boris Johnson's phone were wiped in April 2021, after it emerged his number had been freely available on the internet for 15 years.

In a witness statement, the Cabinet Office's chief operating officer Sarah Harrison said: "In light of a well-publicised security breach, the prime minister implemented security advice relating to a mobile device. The effect was that historic messages were no longer available to search and the phone is not active."

'Thin air'


Legal campaigners say records of vital decision-making have been lost to the public record, which could undermine next year's inquiry into the government's handling of the pandemic.

Cori Crider, director of Foxglove, said: "Our democracy can only work if the decisions of those who represent us are open to scrutiny.

"That can't happen if officials govern by secret WhatsApp chats that vanish into thin air."

Foxglove is bringing the case on behalf of non-profit media group The Citizens.

They say the government is potentially in breach of its own data security guidelines and the Public Records Act of 1958, which requires legal checks to be made on messages in case they need to be kept for the public interest.

The government argues that a record is kept of all substantive discussions and only ephemeral messages are deleted.

In her witness statement, Ms Harrison said: "In my view, it is not realistic to suggest that those working in government should refrain from interacting with one another online in the same way everyone else does, subject always to the compliance with government policy on the use of such tools and in line with information records management policy.

"This is particularly the case where teams are now much more dispersed - between home and the office as well as geographically."

The Foxglove and Good Law Project law suits started out as separate cases but the High Court decided to hear both of them together.

The government is expected to challenge the standing of the Good Law Project in court, after the High Court found against the organisation in a separate case in February.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×