The Government has been accused of a cover-up after it refused to hand over ministers’ full WhatsApps to the Covid inquiry.

Baroness Hallett, the chairman of the inquiry, had demanded that the Government provide Boris Johnson’s messages and those of a key aide by 4pm on Tuesday.

The Cabinet Office initially refused, saying it could not hand over irrelevant messages, before claiming just hours before the deadline it did not in fact have Mr Johnson’s WhatsApps.