Angela Rayner calls for retrieval of Covid contract messages from Minister's ‘broken’ phone as ICO confirms WhatsApp will be looked into
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Labour has called for every effort to be made to retrieve messages
discussing Covid contracts from a health minister’s ‘broken’ phone.
Angela Rayner has written to the Information Commissioner and
Cabinet Secretary, asking that every effort be made to retrieve
these messages and for Lord Bethell to be investigated under the
Ministerial Code. In response, the Information Commissioner’s
Office has confirmed that their investigations will look into
“messenger apps...Request free trial
Labour has called for every effort to be made to retrieve messages discussing Covid contracts from a health minister’s ‘broken’ phone. Angela Rayner has written to the Information Commissioner and Cabinet Secretary, asking that every effort be made to retrieve these messages and for Lord Bethell to be investigated under the Ministerial Code. In response, the Information Commissioner’s Office has confirmed that their investigations will look into “messenger apps such as WhatsApp and any other private channels that fall outside of the DHSC’s corporate systems. This includes looking at the retention, security and deletion of matters relevant to the corporate record to ensure that these have been handled appropriately.” In a court hearing, defending against the Good Law Project, government lawyers stated that Health Minister Lord Bethell had replaced a private phone before it could be searched after it had 'broken', and that he had also used this phone for SMS and WhatsApp messages relevant to the contracts. Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: "A broken phone is a convenient excuse for the Conservatives to avoid scrutiny over yet more sleaze. Discussing millions of pounds of taxpayer-funded contracts on a private device is unacceptable. Why did he not use a government-issued phone for these messages?” “Every effort needs to be made to retrieve them from the Minister’s phone so that they can be presented in court and included in the pandemic public inquiry. “These missing messages are vital evidence and bereaved families deserve nothing less than the whole truth." Ends Notes to editors
Letters: ------ Dear Elizabeth, Many thanks to you and your team for your prompt responses to my recent queries. Since your last reply, it has emerged in court hearings that Lord Bethell had been conducting ministerial business via WhatsApp or text message on a private mobile phone, which he replaced just weeks after it was due to be searched for evidence relating to a legal action. I understand that you are seeking a swift conclusion to your investigation into ministerial use of private email accounts at the Department of Health and Social Care but this latest revelation is deeply alarming. Based on the Government's own statements in court, it appears that the correspondence in question was not copied to civil servants or the minister's official accounts and is no longer available because the Minister 'broke' his private phone just weeks after he was informed that the messages needed to be retrieved. It is hard to see how this could not be an egregious breach of the Code of Practice, as well as Cabinet Office guidance. I am deeply worried that the Minister's blatant disregard for propriety and coincidental technology failures are undermining every effort to seek transparency, including from you and your team. What impact will your inability to access these messages have on your investigation? If these messages are lost forever, will you be able to confirm if they were handled in line with relevant laws and guidance? Will you be able to confirm the scale of the communications that were destroyed? I understand you are not in a position to provide running commentary on an ongoing investigation, but noting how significant these revelations are, I hope you will be able to confirm if this matter falls within your jurisdiction and what steps can be taken to ensure it is addressed. Yours sincerely, Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP, sCDL, DLO --- Dear Simon, My apologies for writing to you before you have had the opportunity to respond to my last letter but reports this week raise a serious concern about the failure of Ministers to comply with Cabinet Office guidance as well as legal requirements. I am sure you will be aware that the Government has conceded in court hearings that Lord Bethell had been conducting ministerial business relating to large contracts via WhatsApp and text message on his private phone. Just weeks after he was informed that these would need to be disclosed in court, he replaced the phone, which he claimed had broken. It has been reported that the correspondence in question may no longer be available. This is, by every definition of the word, utterly ludicrous and you will understand the widespread suspicion that it is a deliberate attempt to hide the truth from the public, as well as the courts. Government spokespeople have stated, and Ministers have told Parliament, that Ministerial correspondence must be in line with the guidance, which make clear that official government accounts must be included in any private communications (and private communications are discouraged). If these messages are not retrievable except from the original phone, it must be the case that no civil servants were made aware, no official accounts were copied, and no records were kept. Conducting government business in this way is clearly a breach of the Cabinet Office guidance, and that in turn must surely raise the question of a breach of the Ministerial Code. What steps will you now take to investigate the use of private communications in the awarding of, or access to, government contracts, and its compliance with Cabinet Office guidance and other regulations? If the Cabinet Office guidance has been broken, will you ensure that Government spokespeople correct the record in regard to their assurance that it was followed? How will you ensure that every effort is made to retrieve the information that was held on the broken phone and that the Minister is made to cooperate with both the courts and the Information Commissioner's investigation into the use of private communications at the DHSC? When over 130,000 people have lost their lives to Covid it is absolutely vital that the public inquiry has access to all the information it needs. There are thousands of bereaved families who deserve no less than total transparency. What assurances can you provide that all correspondence through ministers' private messaging platforms of any sort will be secured and made available to the inquiry? I know your role has not been made easy but you will know better than anyone how vital transparency is in maintaining public trust. With that in mind, I look forward to a timely response to my questions. Yours Sincerely, Angela Rayner MP, SCDL, DLHMOO |