Boris Johnson, the former British Prime Minister, has handed over his notebooks and messages from the pandemic era to the government and asked officials to share them with an independent Covid-19 inquiry, his spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Cabinet Office, which oversees how the government works, is in a dispute with the inquiry over whether it should give up material it thinks is not relevant to the investigation.

“The Covid inquiry has received all Boris Johnson’s material — including WhatsApps and notebooks — in full and without any changes from the Cabinet Office,” the spokesman’s statement said.

“Mr Johnson wants the Cabinet Office to quickly give it to the inquiry.”

The government ordered an inquiry into Britain’s readiness and its public health and economic response in 2021, after Britain had one of the highest numbers of Covid deaths in the world.

The detailed look at decision making could be politically difficult for both Johnson and current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was in charge of money during the pandemic.

The inquiry will examine how the government handled the pandemic, especially at the start when Britain was slower than many European countries to act.

Former judge Heather Hallett is leading the inquiry, which had told the government to hand over Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and diaries by Thursday afternoon.

The Cabinet Office did not answer right away for a request for comment. In a statement on Tuesday, it said:

“We strongly believe that the inquiry does not have the right to ask for clearly irrelevant information that is not part of this investigation.”

“This includes the WhatsApp messages of government workers that are not about work but are completely personal and about their private lives.”

Johnson, who has been heavily criticised for his personal behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic and who got a police fine for breaking lockdown rules, said he would fully work with the inquiry.

“Mr Johnson understands what the government is saying, and does not disagree with it, but he is very happy for the inquiry to see this material in whatever way it needs,” the spokesman said.