"Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson hasn't forgotten his phone password, he just can't remember it," is the argument made by Johnson's allies to justify not presenting his famous phone yesterday to examine it and extract the data inside it that sheds light on how his government is dealing with the Corona crisis.

The British newspaper "The Independant" explained in a report that Johnson's famous phone, known as the "iPhone 1", has become at the heart of the dispute between the government of Rishi Sunak and the Commission of Inquiry on Corona, as each party wants to obtain the phone to examine it and discuss what it contains regarding the official handling of the Covid-19 crisis in the midst of the pandemic.

The Independent reported that former Prime Minister Johnson's phone contained all messages from the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic until May 2021, when he was forced to change his phone after it was confirmed to the competent authorities that Johnson's number had been available online for about 15 years.


Only Corona

According to the newspaper, the public commission of inquiry on Corona will work to publish all messages circulated on WhatsApp between Johnson and others, especially during the period leading up to the lockdown decision in March 2020.

She explained that the inquiry will focus only on what is related to COVID-19 and the government's policy on the pandemic, and has nothing to do with any other issues. The Independent revealed that the National Commission of Inquiry will have the opportunity to question Boris Johnson later this year.

The Independent reported that text messages had been leaked to Johnson earlier in which he spoke with aides in June 2020 about his support for the idea of lifting the first lockdown restrictions early, and adopting the principle of "herd immunity" by allowing the virus to spread among people to gain immunity.


Leaks

One of the most prominent messages that has been leaked previously and caused a stir is one in which Johnson addressed his aides, saying: "If you are over 65 years old, your risk of dying from Covid-19 is likely to be as great as the risk of falling down stairs, and we do not forbid older people from using stairs."

According to The Independent, Johnson added: "If I were 80 years old, and I had a choice between destroying the economy and risking illness and having a 94 per cent chance of survival, I know what I would choose."

But Johnson's aides expressed skepticism about his ideas and the conditions for their success, which led him to back down from them, as his government implemented a lockdown policy in November 2020 and early 2021.


Parliamentary condemnation

A parliamentary committee in Britain confirmed in the middle of last month in a 100-page report that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson should be excluded from entering parliament for misleading MPs of his own free will about violating the rules of lockdown during the "Covid-19" pandemic by holding parties in his office.

Parliament's core committee on discipline said Johnson had deliberately misled parliament on several occasions when asked about gatherings at British government headquarters in Downing Street during the Covid-19 lockdown. The committee also accused Johnson of "complicity in a campaign of abuse and intimidation".

Johnson reiterated that he was innocent of the charges, calling the report "nonsense, a 'lie' and a "hoax" and accusing committee members of waging a retaliatory campaign against him.

The party gate scandal sparked public outrage, especially among the families of those who died from the virus, and was one of the many reasons that contributed to Johnson's downfall while he was prime minister, as it led to a ministerial rebellion that forced him to resign in July last year.