The Scottish government is currently under intense scrutiny as allegations surface regarding the potential deletion or use of auto-delete functions for WhatsApp messages related to the Covid-19 pandemic by senior figures, including former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Current First Minister Humza Yousaf has staunchly denied allegations of message deletion and has pledged full cooperation with both the UK and Scottish Covid inquiries.
In response to the allegations, First Minister Yousaf stated, “I have kept and retained all of the WhatsApp messages, and I am more than happy to hand them over to the Covid inquiry.” He emphasized that government business was not routinely conducted via WhatsApp. The controversy revolves around claims that some government officials, including Sturgeon, manually deleted messages related to the pandemic.
The Scottish inquiry issued a “do not destroy” order in August 2022, making it potentially problematic for witnesses to delete Covid-related messages after that date. Yousaf assured that any requested material, including WhatsApp messages, would be provided in full to the inquiries.
Surprisingly, the slow recovery of retained messages has raised eyebrows. Of the 70 Scottish government figures asked for their WhatsApp messages, only a few messages appear to have been preserved, according to the UK inquiry’s counsel, Jamie Dawson KC.
The Scottish government’s recent request for a legal order under section 21 of the Inquiries Act 2005 has sparked discussions about data privacy concerns. Yousaf confirmed that the government had submitted approximately 13,000 documents to the inquiries and sought a legal order to ensure compliance with the law.
Opposition figures, including Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross and Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie, have voiced concerns about transparency. They accused the government of failing to uphold promises of openness. Baillie, in particular, accused Yousaf of misleading parliament regarding electronic messages and called for a statement to be made to Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).
As the investigations into the alleged deletion of Covid-related WhatsApp messages continue, questions about data privacy, transparency, and government accountability remain at the forefront of the debate, casting a shadow over the Scottish government’s handling of pandemic-related communications.
