IAN Blackford has said Boris Johnson's correspondence on Covid contracts must be published before he "dumps his mobile phone".
The SNP Westminster leader pleaded with Lord Geidt in a letter published today to prioritise investigating the PM's communication before he gets rid of his mobile, amid reports his private number was available online.
Geidt, a crossbench member of the House of Lords, was appointed on Wednesday as the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests.
In the letter, Blackford said publishing correspondence relating to Covid contracts should be an urgent priority given the mounting allegations of breaches of the ministerial code of conduct, and that evidence is at risk of going “missing”.
It has been over a week after the SNP Westminster leader quizzed Johnson during PMQs after revelations in the media that he had private correspondence with Sir James Dyson.
Dyson had asked the PM via text if he brought employees from Singapore to build ventilators for the NHS in the UK would they have to pay additional tax. Johnson said he would "fix" the issue for the billionaire businessman.
During PMQs on April 21, Johnson committed to "immediately" publish all his private correspondence relating to Covid contracts.
However, nine days later, the Prime Minister has not made the information or correspondence public.
It comes as it was reported that the PM’s personal mobile phone number was available online at the bottom of a press release for 15 years.
In his letter to Geidt, Blackford said: “Reports this morning that the Prime Minister will dispose of his private phone – the phone that it is alleged he used to provide privileged access for lobbying on these covid contracts – makes securing and publishing the records on this device all the more urgent to prevent any risk that evidence might 'go missing', unintentionally or otherwise.”
Blackford went on to point out that the PM said he would publicly publish the information over a week ago, adding: “It is now a full nine days since the Prime Minister gave this promise to publish these documents ‘immediately’ – and still nothing.
“The allegations of sleaze continue to pile up and yet not a single piece of this correspondence has been released.
“The public have the right to expect that the Prime Minister will stand by his commitment – if the Prime Minister has nothing to hide then he should have no issue in handing over this correspondence.
“I wish you well in your new appointment, but I suspect public confidence in your role will only be gained if your office is proven to have both authority and real effect. In the interest of winning that public confidence, I suggest investigating, securing and publishing this private correspondence from the Prime Minister on covid contracts must be an immediate priority.”
Commenting on the letter, Blackford added: “The allegations of Tory sleaze continue to pile up and yet not a single piece of this correspondence has been released, leading to concerns that evidence might "go missing", unintentionally or otherwise.
"The public have the right to expect that the Prime Minister will stand by his commitment – if he has nothing to hide then he should have no issue in handing over his correspondence.
"In the interest of accountability, and winning public confidence, I am urging Lord Geidt to investigate, secure and publish this private correspondence from the Prime Minister on covid contracts without delay.
"Should the Prime Minister attempt to intervene and stop Lord Geidt from investigating these crucial matters, I would strongly urge him to make this public."
Blackford’s letter comes as it was reported that Johnson’s mobile number was listed on the bottom of a press release when he was still shadow higher education minister in 2006 – a document which was still available online in 2021.
Reports earlier this month suggested senior officials had called on Johnson to change his number because of concerns about how many people contacted him directly.
Downing Street declined to comment on the report – first revealed on the Popbitch gossip website – that Johnson’s phone number was available online to anyone who searched for it.
Attempts to call the number last night were met with an automated message saying the phone was “switched off” and an invitation to “please try later or send a text”.
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