THE Scottish Government is set to hand over more than 14,000 WhatsApp messages to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Deputy First Minister Shona Robison said that work was underway to provide the inquiry with all informal communications – even ones that may have been deleted – after receiving a Section 21 notice from the Inquiry.
It comes after reports claimed that some WhatsApp messages relating to the coronavirus pandemic had been deleted from the phone of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon.
First Minister Humza Yousaf insisted earlier this week that he had retained his electronic messages and would be fully complying with the probe.
Robison told MSPs that the Scottish Government’s WhatsApp groups aimed at dealing with “coordination, logistics and day-to-day communication” during the pandemic contained sensitive material, including pictures of the children of government officials and private medical details.
She said: “The UK Inquiry asked in June for summaries of all WhatsApp and similar groups related to coordination, logistics and day-to-day communication - greatly expanding the scope of what the Scottish Government needed to collate and process accordingly.
READ MORE: Tory MP Paul Bristow sacked from Government job after Gaza ceasefire call
“This request was followed in September by a request for the actual messages exchanged within these groups.In examining the messages collated, it was clear that a number of them were of a particularly personal nature, including photos of individuals’ children and personal medical details.
“In order to reconcile our obligations as data controller for the contents of the messages with our desire to cooperate fully with the Inquiry, the Scottish Government wrote to the UK Inquiry on 5th October requesting a Section 21 notice, to provide the necessary legal basis for providing the information within the messages.”
She added: “The Scottish Government received this Section 21 notice yesterday, and I can confirm that work is well under way to fully comply in accordance with the timetable set by the UK Inquiry.
“This will mean that all requested messages held will be shared, in full and unredacted, by 6 November.
READ MORE: King Charles asked for 'unequivocal apology' for Kenya colonial abuses
“In addition to the hundreds of messages already handed over to the UK Inquiry, this notice will allow us to share over 14,000, mainly WhatsApp, messages from various groups and individuals over the period of the pandemic, mostly concerning routine coordination of work and meetings by officials.
“I can confirm that messages from Ministers and former Ministers are included.
“In instances where it appears as though messages may not be available, including through deletion in line with civil service policies on data management and retention, advice has been sought as to whether device owners or a third party are able to recover material.
“We will, of course, continue to fully cooperate with both inquiries and will share any additional messages, should more become available or further material be requested.”
Robison made clear that she was unable to provide details on what has or has not been provided to both the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry and the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf insists he has not deleted pandemic WhatsApp messages
“It is important to note that both inquiries have made all their requests to witnesses in confidence, and those requests are not public,” she said.
“All those receiving requests, including Scottish Government, have been told by the inquiries not to share their content. It is entirely up to – and wholly a matter for – the independent inquiry chairs to determine, where appropriate, whether to publish the material they receive."
Informal messages sent and received by First Minister Humza Yousaf during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he served as justice secretary and health secretary, will be handed over to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry unredacted, Robison added.
On Monday, the First Minister said the Scottish Government "had a social media messaging policy that required us to routinely delete WhatsApp messages" during the period of the pandemic in question.
However, Robison appeared to try and clarify this statement.
She said: “Contrary to some reports there is not and has not ever been a requirement for any official, let alone ministers, to auto-delete messages without ensuring that relevant information from them is captured and saved appropriately first."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel