Sturgeon ‘has nothing to hide’ as 14,000 messages to be handed to Covid inquiry

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she has “nothing to hide” under questioning about her WhatsApps, as 14,000 messages are set to be disclosed to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

Press reports over the weekend suggested Ms Sturgeon’s messages from the time of the pandemic had been deleted and the now-backbench MSP told journalists in Holyrood she acted in line with Scottish Government policy on informal messaging.

The policy, published on Wednesday alongside a statement from Deputy First Minister Shona Robison saying thousands of messages will be given to the inquiry and First Minister Humza Yousaf will hand his over unredacted, said “business conversations” through informal messaging channels should be deleted “at least monthly” after any decisions had been noted in the Government’s record management system.

“I did not manage the Covid response by WhatsApp,” Ms Sturgeon said.

Speaking to reporters at Holyrood, she said she was not a member of any WhatsApp groups and she took decisions on the response at the Scottish Government headquarters at St Andrews House in Edinburgh.

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