Pressure grows for Covid inquiry to be fast-tracked after Hancock WhatsApp leak

Labour calls for prime minister to ensure that no key evidence, including social media data, is erased

Ministers face calls to fast-track" the public inquiry into the pandemic as official documents show civil servants are preparing for it to run for five years or longer.

The Labour party has warned that a painfully slow" Covid inquiry increases the risk of ministers not being properly held to account for their decisions. Labour leader Keir Starmer last week called for it to report by the end of the year.