UK Covid Inquiry: Scottish Government accused of 'cover up' amid evidence decisions were taken on WhatsApp

Both Ms Sturgeon and Mr Yousaf insisted decisions were not ‘routinely’ taken on the messaging app.

Opposition politicians have accused the Scottish Government of a “deliberate cover up” after the UK Covid Inquiry heard evidence suggesting policy decisions were in fact being taken over WhatsApp during the Covid pandemic.

Both First Minister Humza Yousaf and his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon have insisted the messaging app was not routinely used to take policy decisions, with the former first minister insisting at the weekend that she conducted the Covid response “through formal processes from my office in St Andrew’s House, not through WhatsApp or any other informal messaging platform”.

However, the inquiry, sitting in Edinburgh, yesterday revealed messages between Ms Sturgeon and her former chief of staff Liz Lloyd on how many guests to allow at weddings and funerals, which the Tories said proved “Covid decisions were unquestionably made on WhatsApp”.

The First Minister Humza Yousaf's statement to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry said be believed there were times decisions made by former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon were not "cascaded" to the rest of the cabinet.

The inquiry was shown messages from Ms Lloyd’s phone where Ms Sturgeon said she was “not sure what to” do about the number of people at weddings and funerals, to which Ms Lloyd replied: “I think as we only just put them up just leave it… I think we stay at 20.”

At First Minister’s Questions yesterday, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross suggested that Ms Sturgeon “made government decisions on WhatsApp, but deleted all the evidence of crucial discussions”.

Mr Yousaf, who admitted the WhatsApp controversy had “not been, frankly, the government’s finest hour”, rejected claims of a cover up and said he stood by his previous comments that it was not “routinely” used for government decision making.

In other developments:

Nicola Sturgeon's former chief of staff, Liz Llloyd departs the Covid inquiry at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC)

• Mr Yousaf announced an external review into his Government’s use of mobile messaging, and apologised over the Scottish government's handling of informal messages,
• Ms Sturgeon branded Boris Johnson a “f****** clown” in a series of messages during the then prime minister’s “f****** excruciating” announcement of a second national lockdown for England
• Ms Lloyd told Ms Sturgeon she wanted a “good old-fashioned rammy” with the UK Government over furlough support
• Mr Yousaf said Nicola Sturgeon wanted a "tighter cast list" when it came to decision making on some issues, with decisions sometimes made without without informing the Scottish Cabinet

Following the revelations yesterday, Mr Ross said “it looks like most senior figures have engaged in a deliberate cover up”.

“The SNP Government misled the public over crucial Covid decisions which were made and discussed on WhatsApp, despite Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon’s claims otherwise,” he said.

“It was pathetic that he claimed today he hadn’t misled parliament because he’d only said WhatsApp messages weren’t ‘routinely’ used for decision-making.”

Mr Yousaf' told the inquiry that it was "very rare" for decisions to be made solely by the First Minister.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar used FMQs to accuse Ms Sturgeon and her former deputy first minister John Swinney of deleting WhatsApp messages on an “industrial scale”.

"This isn’t just about the inquiry, this is about how this Government operates.

“This is a party that over the last 17 years in Government has created a culture of secrecy and cover-up. A culture that goes from the First Minister down, because the SNP believe that it’s one standard for them and another standard for everyone else.

“They have abused the trust that the people of Scotland have put on them.”

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross during First Minster's Questions. Jane Barlow/PA Wire

During Ms Lloyd’s testimony, the inquiry heard that Ms Sturgeon referred to then Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a “f***ing clown” during a public address by the latter to announce a second lockdown.

In October 2020, during Johnson’s televised address to the public, Ms Lloyd messaged the First Minister: “Hitting 15 minutes between football and Strictly, let’s never do it like this.”

Ms Lloyd said Ms Sturgeon’s strong language showed her “frustration” towards Mr Johnson.

The inquiry was also shown WhatsApps messages between Ms Lloyd and Ms Sturgeon on furlough support.

In the messages, Ms Lloyd spoke of putting pressure on the UK Government, adding: "Think I just want a good old-fashioned rammy [with the UK Government] so can think about something other than sick people.”Ms Lloyd said this related to a time when the Scottish Government wanted to apply restrictions but UK ministers were planning to wind down furlough. She said: “This is an expression of frustration that we were not able to manage the pandemic at this point in time in the way we wanted. ‘Good old-fashioned rammy’ is language I would rarely use, actually.”

She added: "Public spats could often deliver results. If public pressure on the UK Government was there, it had been shown in the past that they would sometimes change their mind if they felt that pressure, and what I want them to do is change their mind.”

Mr Yousaf appeared before the inquiry during the afternoon session, and began by apologising “unreservedly” for the Scottish Government’s failure to hand over WhatsApp messages, saying “there is no excuse” for the deletion of WhatsApp messages relating to pandemic decision-making, adding “we should have done better”.

“Any key decisions in relation to government business should be recorded in the corporate record,” Mr Yousaf told the inquiry.

“But I’m afraid that for a long time the corporate mindset of the government was if the corporate record had the record, that was the only thing that was required, when the inquiry has made it clear you were seeking more than that.

“There was a gap on mobile messaging policy.”

Jamie Dawson KC, the lead counsel for the UK Covid Inquiry, said Mr Yousaf appeared to be “a heavy user of WhatsApp”, and asked the First Minister if he used multiple personal phones rather than his government-issued phone during the pandemic - to which Mr Yousaf replied that he did.

Pushed on the deletion of WhatsApp messaging, Mr Yousaf said that the “salient points” of discussions relating to decisions were given to the corporate record by Ministers’ private offices, rather than the verbatim discussions.

“Was it in your habit to give your phone to your private office?,” Mr Dawson asked.

"No, that would not be the usual practice,” said Mr Yousaf.

“I would inform my private office about a decision and salient points to record and pass them on in an email or a call."

Mr Yousaf added: “Not every sentence, full stop, or apostrophe will be recorded.”

Mr Yousaf insisted that a WhatsApp message from national clinical director Jason Leitch was an example of him “over speaking” after Mr Leitch suggested that Nicola Sturgeon “actually wanted none of us” (in relation to decision making)

An exchange of WhatsApp messages between Mr Yousaf and Mr Leitch on May 20 2021, showed Mr Leitch saying: “There was some First Minister ‘keep it small’ shenanigans as always. She actually wants none of us.”

Jamie Dawson KC asked Mr Yousaf: “Was this an indication in fact that the First Minister really took decisions in connection with the pandemic herself or at least would have referred to it that way?”

Mr Yousaf responded: “I think that was, as Jason (Leitch) said when he gave evidence to this very inquiry an example of him perhaps over speaking. I don’t doubt of course there were times the former first minister needed a tighter cast list and wanted one.

“I think this is a classic example of Jason perhaps over speaking.”

He said he would “not agree” with the characterisation that the Scottish Cabinet was a decision ratifying body during the pandemic, rather than a decision making body.

Earlier in the day, Mr Yousaf announced that there will be an externally-led review into the use of mobile messaging apps and non-corporate technology in the Scottish Government.

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Mr Yousaf offered an “unreserved apology” to families bereaved by Covid over his government’s handling of WhatsApp messaging, and said: “I do believe that there are challenges in relation to our use of WhatsApp, it has not been frankly the Government’s finest hour in relation to handling those requests and I put my hands up to that, unlike of course other governments.

“That’s why I have commissioned officials to deliver an externally-led review, not a Government review but an externally-led review, into the use of mobile messaging apps and the use of non-corporate technology in the Scottish Government, and that should take particular account of our interaction with statutory public inquiries.

“When it comes to being transparent, the Government handed over 28,000 messages, 19,000 documents, I myself as First Minister of the government have handed over my WhatsApp messages.”

In response, the lawyer representing the Scottish Covid Bereaved group, Aamer Anwar, said: “Too little, too late. On the day that Humza Yousaf gives evidence to announce this review, he has been First Minister for ten months, we had been asking for WhatsApps since March 2023 and once again the Scottish Covid Bereaved were offered yet another apology - this just adds insult to injury.”