UK Covid Inquiry: Nicola Sturgeon's central defence over WhatsApp scandal hasn't even lasted a week – Scotsman comment

Evidence presented to the Covid Inquiry conflicts with former First Minister claim that WhatsApp was not used to make decisions about Scotland’s pandemic response

There are those who buy Nicola Sturgeon’s line that the deletion of WhatsApp messages from the height of the Covid pandemic doesn’t matter. However, the UK Covid Inquiry does not appear to be among them, judging by how long it spent asking her successor, Humza Yousaf, about their use in government decision-making.

On Saturday, amid uproar over Sturgeon’s failure to retain her messages, she insisted Scotland’s response to Covid was decided “through formal processes from my office in St Andrews House, not through WhatsApp”, while stressing she was “motivated only, and at all times, by the determination to keep people as safe as possible”.

Yesterday, the UK Covid inquiry revealed WhatsApp messages taken from former Sturgeon aide Liz Lloyd’s phone in which the pair discussed how many people should be allowed at weddings and funerals with Lloyd telling the then First Minister: “I think as we only just put them up just leave it… I think we stay at 20.” It may be only one example, but it shows decisions were being taken over WhatsApp and the mass deletions by Sturgeon, her deputy John Swinney and others may have covered up more.

In another message, Lloyd told Sturgeon: “I think I just want a good old-fashioned rammy [with the UK Government] so I can think about something other than sick people.” This sounds like a rammy about something other than Covid, but Lloyd claimed she was looking for a “public spat” with Westminster because of its poor handling of the pandemic – and denied a suggestion that it related to independence.

Sturgeon’s central defence to the charge that WhatsApp deletions amount to a cover-up – that the messages were not important to the way decisions were made – has not even lasted a week. We look forward to her attempts to explain the contradictions in her position when she gives evidence to the inquiry next week.

Once revered as the “chief mammy”, faithfully shepherding her nation through this great crisis, in contrast to the “f***ing clown” in Downing Street (she was right about that), Sturgeon’s handling of Covid ultimately produced similarly poor results. The reasons why are becoming clearer.