UK COVID Inquiry: Scottish First Ministers Accused of Deleting WhatsApp Messages

Facts

• The Sunday Mail has named former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, along with Scotland's current first minister Humza Yousaf, as two of 70 Scottish governmental figures alleged to have manually deleted WhatsApp messages concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.¹
• The outlet claims that, according to documents belonging to the legal team behind the current UK inquiry into the COVID pandemic, the 'majority' of WhatsApp messages on the phone's of key Scottish ministers and other governmental staff had 'not been retained.'²
• Former Deputy First Minister John Swinney is also believed to have deleted messages — he is one of many individuals to have been asked to submit communications from the likes of WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, and Signal as part of a country-wide investigation into the pandemic and the government's response.³
• Yousaf became Scotland's health secretary during the pandemic in May 2021. Last week, Jamie Dawson KC — counsel to the inquiry — stated that the Scottish government had so far 'provided the inquiry with no WhatsApp or other informal messaging material.'⁴
• In response to reports on Monday, Yousaf claimed that he had 'maintained' his messages and was 'not sure where those press reports have come from.' However, the first minister acknowledged that 'the policy at the time' required individuals to 'routinely delete WhatsApp messages.'⁵
• A spokesperson for Sturgeon commented that the former first minister would 'continue to cooperate fully with both the UK and Scottish COVID inquiries,' stating that Sturgeon had 'recently submitted' a third written statement of approximately 200 pages, and is expected to give oral evidence again in 2024.⁶

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Evening Standard, ³Independent, ⁴The Herald, ⁵The National and ⁶STV News.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Telegraph. Proper records of communication between ministers and officials must be kept for the purposes of governmental accountability. The erasure of WhatsApp messages has blurred the whole process of the COVID inquiry, raising extensive questions over who made what decisions as well as how they were reached. If government actions cannot be accurately accounted for, those at the heart of Westminster and Holyrood should face more intense scrutiny over the pandemic.
• Narrative B, as provided by Spectator (UK). While the revelations coming out of the COVID inquiry are currently making headlines, the media will likely lose interest by the time it reaches the meaningful point of proposing changes to governmental process. Inquiries are designed, not necessarily with the aim of holding to account, but certainly with the intention of determining recommendations to aid preparedness and improve structures and cultures in the medium- to long-term. For this inquiry to be meaningful, the UK should focus on rapidly and effectively implementing any recommendations reached by the committee.