UK: Covid-inquiry has roared back into the headlines

A senior U.K. civil servant who worked closely with Boris Johnson turned on WhatsApp's controversial disappearing messages function in a group used by government figures, weeks before the then-prime minister announced a public inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic. Testimony revealed in Britain's COVID-19 inquiry Monday showed that Martin Reynolds - who served as Johnson's principal private secretary - turned on the function on April 15, 2021 in a WhatsApp group containing senior figures including Johnson and other top No. 10 Downing Street advisers and civil servants. Johnson announced the public inquiry into coronavirus on May 12, 2021.