Security and transparency concerns have been aired after it was revealed that Rishi Sunak routinely uses pens with erasable ink to make hand-written notes on official documents and in government meetings.
The Guardian has learned that the prime minister has taken to using disposable Pilot V fountain pens in his job, and was spotted using one as recently as two weeks ago while taking notes during a Cabinet meeting.
The same pen has been seen used while working on government papers and signing official letters in Downing Street.
The pens, which retail for £4.75, carry an “erasable ink” logo and are marketed by the Japanese stationery company as “ideal for those learning to write with ink because if you make a mistake, the ink erases using standard ink eradicators”.
It has raised concerns that official papers might slip under the radar during official inquiries, such as the one into the Covid-19 pandemic being carried out now.
Downing Street faced some criticism for lack of transparency after No 10 announced earlier this month it was planning to go to court to try to block the official Covid inquiry from gaining access to government WhatsApp messages, although allies of the prime minister have insisted he has nothing to hide.
Sunak’s government has also been revealed to have placed a record number of blocks on freedom of information requests in its first three months, leading to accusations of a “culture of concealment”.
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