Boris Johnson can’t remember Covid phone’s passcode

Boris Johnson has been unable to give the UK’s Covid inquiry WhatsApp messages from his old mobile phone because he cannot remember the passcode.

Boris Johnson’s old phone is wanted by the Covid inquiry. Picture: AFP

Boris Johnson has been unable to give the UK’s Covid inquiry WhatsApp messages from his old mobile phone because he cannot remember the passcode with “100 per cent confidence”.

The former prime minister stopped using the device in May 2021 after it emerged that the number had been freely available online for more than 15 years. There are concerns that the iPhone will automatically disable and erase the contents if the wrong code is entered.

The Cabinet Office had until 4pm on Monday to comply with a High Court ruling to hand over Mr Johnson’s unredacted notebooks and WhatsApp messages from his time in Downing Street. The Covid inquiry confirmed it was still waiting for the messages from his old phone but said he was co-operating. Government security experts have had access to the phone, which is held by Mr Johnson’s lawyers, in an effort to stop the data being lost.

The device was last accessed in December 2021 after Lord Geidt, then the adviser on ministers’ interests, asked for messages about the refurbishment of Mr Johnson’s Downing Street flat.

A source close to Mr Johnson said: “Boris Johnson is happy for the material to be disclosed and has done everything he can to give the inquiry access.” The ­device probably contains messages about the ordering of coronavirus lockdowns.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said “all of the requested material” had been provided to the inquiry. The government handed over the rest of the documents after losing a legal challenge.

Mr Johnson’s phone is likely to have been subjected to tighter security than normal.

The Times