Boris Johnson – latest: Government withholding WhatsApp messages from Covid Inquiry ‘to protect Rishi Sunak’

The government is withholding Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages from the official Covid inquiry to protect Rishi Sunak and other serving ministers, Archie Mitchell reports.

The Cabinet Office is resisting requests from inquiry chair Lady Hallett to hand over the former prime minister’s unredacted messages and diaries from the pandemic.

It fears that giving in to the former judge would mean all other evidence from ministers, including Mr Sunak himself, would have to be submitted without redactions, The Guardian reported.

The government argues it is opposing Lady Hallett’s request to protect the privacy of ministers and officials.

People who feel they are getting “very poor” interest on their savings from their bank should “shop around and find one that will pay a better rate”, Mel Stride has said.

The work and pensions secretary was asked by Kay Burley on Sky News what the government should do about banks who are not offering competitive levels of interest rates for savers.

Mr Stride, who chaired the Treasury select committee for three years, said: “I think, broadly speaking, the banking and financial services sector is a relatively efficient and highly competitive marketplace.

“So you would expect as one particular bank starts changing rates others to follow, but it is sticky, and of course, government, the business department and Treasury and others are often involved in discussions with banks about exactly those kinds of things.”

He stressed it is a “free market”, before adding: “My advice generally would be if you feel you’re getting a very poor rate with one particular institution is shop around and find one that will pay a better rate, and there are those out there.”

Dale Vince is a "perfectly legitimate person" to take money from and his donations do not affect Labour’s views on Just Stop Oil, the shadow international trade secretary has said.

Nick Thomas-Symonds told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: "We have been extremely clear on our views on Just Stop Oil.

"Indeed, Keir Starmer has said of them ‘just go home’ because they are not actually promoting the cause of tackling climate change.

"What they are doing is entirely counterproductive and the only debate it’s provoking is about our public order laws."

Mr Thomas-Symonds said Mr Vince, a green energy entrepreneur and chairman of League Two football club Forest Green Rovers, is a "successful businessman here in the UK",adding: "He’s a perfectly legitimate person to take money from.

"If he wishes to give money to other causes that’s up to him but it can hardly be said that this affects our views as a Labour Party on Just Stop Oil."

The government intends to continue being “absolutely transparent and candid” amid calls for the Cabinet Office to hand over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages to the Covid inquiry, a minister said.

Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, spoke to Sky News earlier this morning after the government was forced to deny allegations of a cover-up when the former PM said he was happy for the messages to be handed over - only for the Cabinet Office to say it didn’t have them.

A boost to childcare payments for families on universal credit will lead to a "greater participation in the labour force", the work and pensions secretary has said.

Mel Stride told Kay Burley on Sky News: "What we are doing as of the end of next month is substantially increasing the support that we are providing for those who are taking on childcare who are in work and receiving universal credit.

"So that’s a 47% increase in the amount that people can claim, so a huge increase there.

"The second thing we are doing is one of the things that’s prevented people (from) taking on childcare in the past has been the fact that they are having to find the money upfront, so we are removing that problem by helping them with those childcare costs, so this is a very major step.

"And of course, what this will lead to in time is a greater participation in the labour force.

"And so what we want is, we want more people in work so that we can ease those tight labour markets, those businesses that are really struggling to find the right people.

"And childcare is absolutely key to that."

The government has announced that the amount of childcare for which families on benefits can claim back will increase by hundreds of pounds from the end of June under government plans to tackle inactivity and help grow the economy.

The plans were first outlined in the Budget.

The Government is to raise limits by 47%, meaning eligible parents can claim back up to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two or more children.

An extraordinary row over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApps risked descending into farce as the former prime minister said he was happy for his messages to be given to the Covid inquiry – only for the government to say it did not have them.

Downing Street was forced to deny allegations of a cover-up as it stuck by its stance that it should not be forced to release “irrelevant” material concerning the private lives of government staff.

The head of the inquiry has already threatened possible criminal sanctions if the Cabinet Office fails to disclose Mr Johnson’s diary entries and WhatsApp messages.

No 10 forced to deny cover-up in row over demand to hand over ‘irrelevent’ material

The UK’s trade deals with Australia and New Zealand came into force at midnight, with special shipments of British goods such as signed Beano comics among the first to be sent under the new arrangements.

The agreements are the first trade deals negotiated post-Brexit to enter into force and come after the UK, Australia and New Zealand completed their domestic ratification processes.

Under the deals’ terms, from Wednesday tariffs on all UK goods exports to Australia and New Zealand will be removed, access to these markets for services unlocked and red tape slashed for digital trade and work visas.

Trade agreements comes to effect at midnight

Good morning and welcome to the Independent’s rolling politics coverage.

We’ll be bringing you the latest developments in the Boris Johnson Covid inquiry WhatsApp row and other stories from Westminster and elsewhere.

A spokesperson for the ministerial department said: “We are fully committed to our obligations to the Covid-19 Inquiry.

“As such, the Cabinet Office alone has already provided upwards of 55,000 documents, 24 personal witness statements, eight corporate statements and extensive time and effort has gone into assisting the inquiry fulsomely over the last 11 months.”