Boris Johnson has asked the government to "urgently disclose" the unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks that he handed to the Cabinet Office as part of the Covid-19 inquiry.
The development comes less than 24 hours ahead of a deadline set by the Covid inquiry for the Cabinet Office to either share the material or explain why it was refusing to.
The Cabinet Office now has until 4pm on Thursday, having been granted a 48-hour extension on Tuesday, to decide whether it wants to provide the inquiry with the material.
However, ministers are said to be be concerned about the precedent that would set.
Downing Street said the government believes it has no duty to disclose "unambiguously irrelevant" material. It claimed on Tuesday that it does not hold the information being requested.
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