The UK government is set for a legal face-off with the Judge it appointed to head the public inquiry into Covid pandemic having failed to meet the 4pm deadline demand for WhatsApp messages exchanged among officials during lockdown.

Boris Johnson after initial delays and accusation of witch-hunt turned in the records to whitehall putting pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to hand them over to inquiry’s chairwoman, crossbench peer Baroness Hallett.

The government has refused to disclose some of the material, arguing it is not relevant to the inquiry’s work.

But the inquiry’s boss says deciding what is relevant should be her job.

This is a breaking and developing news story.