Boris Johnson warned he could lose funding for Covid inquiry if he undermines ministers

Boris Johnson has been warned it could lose public funding for legal advice if it attempts to thwart or undermine the government's position on the Covid-19 inquiry.

Cabinet Office lawyers told him the money would stop being available if he breached conditions such as disclosing evidence without permission, the Sunday Times reported.

Mr Johnson was at the center of a row as ministers launched a Supreme Court attempted to challenge demands for an investigation into his unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks.

The former prime minister pledged to send all his messages directly to the official inquiry, bypassing the Cabinet Office.

The Sunday Times detailed a letter sent last week by Cabinet Office lawyers to Mr Johnson.

The offer of funding will cease to be available if you knowingly seek to frustrate or undermine, either through your own actions or those of others, the government's position in relation to the investigation, unless it does not “There is a clear and irreconcilable conflict of interest on a particular issue at issue,” he said.

They added that funding would only remain available if it met conditions such as sending to the Cabinet Office any witness statements or evidence you intend to provide to the inquiry so that it can be verified by the appropriate officials.

The Cabinet Office said the letter was intended to protect public funds so that taxpayer-funded lawyers were not used for any purpose other than to facilitate the investigation.

Former Secretary of Culture Nadine Dorriesa staunch ally of Mr Johnson, said it was not a good idea for the government.

All evidence provided must be free and must not be limited by government censorship, whatever form it may take, she tweeted.

Conservative Lord Donor CruddasA staunch supporter of Mr Johnson, who awarded him a peerage, urged the MP not to be held to ransom by the threat.

Don't worry @BorisJohnson, I can easily get your legal fees funded by supporters and crowdfunding, it's easy, he tweeted.

After the Government launched his legal battle, Mr Johnson wrote to the chair of investigations, Baroness Hallett, saying he was sending all the unredacted WhatsApps he had handed over to the Cabinet Office.

He said he would like to do the same for messages on an old phone he was told not to use after it emerged the number had been available online for 15 years.

This system will be crucial, because it will contain discussions before May 2021, in particular around the three national confinements that he ordered.

Mr. Johnson told the President that he was not prepared to let my material become a test for others while I am perfectly happy for the Inquiry to see it.

The Cabinet Office failed to meet Lady Hallett's deadline on Thursday to hand over the requested material.

But the government ministry is trying to resist publishing messages that it unambiguously considers irrelevant.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: This letter from officials simply reiterates that taxpayer-funded lawyers must be used to facilitate the Covid investigation and for no other purpose.

The letter makes clear that Mr Johnson has a duty to give truthful evidence to the inquiry independently and without reference to the views of the current government.

This letter was intended to protect public funds. This in no way prevents Mr Johnson from providing whatever evidence he wants.

Rishi Sunak will also face scrutiny at the inquiry into the response to the coronavirus pandemic, including potentially his Eat Out to Help Out scheme to encourage diners to return to restaurants in August 2020 , a few months before the second national lockdown.

John Edmunds, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who advised the government on Covid-19 on the Sage committee, said the policy introduced by the Prime Minister when he was chancellor had not been discussed with scientists.

Professor Edmonds told the Observer: If we had (been consulted) I would have made it clear what I thought.

To me, this was an incredibly stupid idea and an obscene way to spend public money.