Boris's messages could be handed to the Covid inquiry by the government to avoid a courtroom showdown

Ministers confirmed they were seeking a judicial review after missing deadline

A government bid to block the release of Boris Johnson’s Covid messages could be abandoned, amid Tory warnings that it will backfire.

Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin told MPs that ministers were in discussions with the head of the Covid Inquiry in a bid to avoid a damaging courtroom showdown at the end of this month.

Ministers confirmed last week they were seeking a judicial review after missing Baroness Hallett’s Thursday deadline for handing over the information ahead of the opening of the inquiry next week.

Mr Quin said the hearing was being ‘expedited’ and was likely to be held on June 30.

But he acknowledged it could delay the inquiry, adding: ‘If there is a way of solving this without going to the courts that would obviously be welcome.’

Mr Johnson has vowed to send all his messages to the inquiry, circumventing the Cabinet Office

Mr Johnson has vowed to send all his messages to the inquiry, circumventing the Cabinet Office.

In the Commons yesterday, Tory MPs lined up to warn the Government against pressing ahead with legal action.

Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said the Government was almost certain to lose its battle with Baroness Hallett, a former appeal court judge. ‘The courts will be very reluctant to get involved in second guessing the decision by Baroness Hallett,’ he added. ‘They are going to have to decide she has got things very wrong indeed before they wish to intervene.’

Addressing Mr Quin, he added: ‘It begs the question to use the old wartime adage, ”is your journey really necessary?” Mr Quin said the row did not undermine the Government’s confidence in the inquiry.

Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said the Government was almost certain to lose its battle with Baroness Hallett, a former appeal court judge

‘The Government fully supports the vital work of the inquiry as it seeks to establish the facts and lessons to be learned from the response to the pandemic,’ he said. ‘It is right that the inquiry into Covid-19 handling in the UK is comprehensive and rigorous.’

But he said it was right to contest the ‘principle’ that the Government should be able to withhold material that was ‘unambiguously irrelevant’ to the inquiry, such as personal messages and those relating to other areas of government.

Tory grandee Sir Edward Leigh urged the Government to ‘let everything hang out’, adding: ‘Let them have what they want and let’s get to the truth.’

William Wragg, Conservative chairman of the public administration and constitutional affairs committee, said it was for Baroness Hallett to ‘determine’ what was relevant to her inquiry.