Tory MPs expelled by Boris Johnson demand all government communications over parliament suspension

Former Conservatives join with opposition to demand release of letters, emails, texts and WhatsApp messages

(AFP)

Tory MPs expelled by Boris Johnson have joined with the opposition to demand the release of a raft of internal communications between his top advisers about his controversial suspension of parliament.

Included on the list of officials targeted are controversial adviser Dominic Cummings, director of communications Lee Cain and director of legislative affairs Nikki da Costa.

In an emergency debate in the Commons hours before it is shut down on Monday, the rebel MPs aim to secure a “humble address” to the Queen effectively resulting in an order from the monarch to release the material by the end of Wednesday.

They are demanding “all correspondence, whether formal or informal in both written and electronic form” relating to the prorogation sent since the day before Mr Johnson’s arrival in office on 24 July.

And their emergency motion makes clear this should include messages sent via the WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram and Signal apps, by text or iMessage and from “private email accounts both encrypted and unencrypted”.

The MPs, who include former Tories Dominic Grieve, Sir Oliver Letwin, Justin Greening and Guto Bebb - all expelled by Mr Johnson after voting against the government - are also demanding the release of all documents relating to the Operation Yellowhammer preparations for a no-deal Brexit.

The release of such a volume of internal government communications on a matter of the highest political controversy would be unprecedented.

But Mr Johnson’s loss of his majority through the removal of the whip from 21 MPs and the defection of Phillip Lee to the Liberal Democrats have left him vulnerable to defeat even on so sensitive a vote.

Commons Speaker John Bercow must decide whether to give leave for the motion to be considered and MPs must approve it for debate before a vote can take place later on Monday.