In the tug of war over Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages, who is likely to win?

The Tories’ civil war looks set to intensify as the pro-Johnson faction goes head to head with both the chair of the Covid inquiry and the current leadership, writes Sean O’Grady

The former prime minister is still causing problems for Rishi Sunak (Reuters)

The chair of the inquiry into the government’s response to the pandemic, Baroness (Heather) Hallett, has extended the deadline she set for the Cabinet Office – and in effect for Boris Johnson – to hand over unredacted documents including 24 of Johnson’s notebooks, his diaries and his WhatsApp messages. Originally they were due by 4pm on Tuesday 30 May, but they must now be submitted by Thursday 1 June.

Both the Cabinet Office and Johnson are resisting handing over the complete set of papers and electronic data, on the grounds that some of the contents are not relevant to the inquiry.

Why the delay?