Sturgeon transferred ‘zero’ WhatsApp Covid messages on to corporate record
The former first minister is now facing calls to make a personal statement to Holyrood to answer questions from MSPs.
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Your support makes all the difference.Nicola Sturgeon is facing calls to make a personal statement to Holyrood after it was confirmed the former Scottish first minister failed to transfer any WhatsApp messages from during the Covid pandemic on to her Government’s corporate record.
The Scottish Government confirmed “zero” WhatsApp messages were transferred to the electronic records and document management (eRDM) system by the former SNP leader.
Freedom of information (FOI) requests from Sam Taylor of the These Islands think tank also show current First Minister Humza Yousaf, former Scottish deputy first minister John Swinney, ex-finance secretary Kate Forbes, and former health secretary Jeane Freeman similarly did not transfer messages.
Giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry when it sat in Edinburgh last month, Ms Sturgeon confirmed she had deleted her WhatsApp messages, though she stressed this was in line with official advice, and she said all “salient” points were placed on the corporate record.
But when Mr Taylor asked for a breakdown of messages transferred to the eRDM by Ms Sturgeon and other key ministers from January 2020 onwards, he was told in each case “the answer is zero”.
A spokesman for Nicola Sturgeon said: “Any messages Nicola had, she handled and dealt with in line with the Scottish Government’s policies.”
Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said this shows “the culture of secrecy and cover-up at the heart of the SNP Government is becoming more stark by the day”.
She added: “Nicola Sturgeon defended wiping her WhatsApp messages by claiming important information was retained on the record – but now it seems there isn’t a trace of any of them.
“This SNP Government still has huge questions to answer, including why it failed to live up to its promise of transparency.”
Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy meanwhile said the “eye-opening discovery” raised “further very serious questions” for Ms Sturgeon.
The Tory MSP stated: “It looks as though the former First Minister may well have misled the public inquiry and the public with her contradictory evidence.
“She boasted about leading the most transparent government ever, when the reality was one addicted to a culture of cover-up and keeping the public in the dark.
“Nicola Sturgeon owes it to grieving families to urgently explain why messages were not transferred.”
As the FOI review makes clear, there is no requirement for the form of communication to be recorded when saving information to the corporate record
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said Ms Sturgeon, who is still the MSP for Glasgow Southside, should “stop dodging questions” and make a personal statement to Holyrood.
He said: “One year on from Sturgeon’s resignation and it seems this SNP Government is running out of excuses.
“One of the biggest scandals in Scottish political history is unfolding in front of us. If the former first minister has any shred of respect left for public life, she should heed my party’s calls to make a personal statement to Parliament and stop dodging questions.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government has a well-established and overarching records management policy in accordance with the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 and assured by the Keeper of the Records of Scotland.
“As the FOI review makes clear, there is no requirement for the form of communication to be recorded when saving information to the corporate record.”