Scottish Government bans use of WhatsApp for official business - and here's why

Ministers said the ban will come into force in the spring

The Scottish Government has banned the use of WhatsApp and other informal messaging services for official business.

The decision follows a fierce backlash over the mass deletion of messages by ministers and officials during the Covid pandemic.

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Kate Forbes, the deputy first minister, said the ban will come into effect from the spring. She made the announcement on Tuesday in response to an external review led by former Channel Islands data protection commissioner Emma Martins.

The use of WhatsApp by politicians and officials has been an ongoing source of controversyThe use of WhatsApp by politicians and officials has been an ongoing source of controversy
The use of WhatsApp by politicians and officials has been an ongoing source of controversy | PA

Ms Forbes told MSPs: “One of the key questions asked in the review was around the use of mobile messaging apps such as WhatsApp.

“The report provides a clear recommendation in this regard. We have taken the decision to end the use of mobile messaging applications across the Scottish Government. This will happen by spring 2025.

Kate ForbesKate Forbes
Kate Forbes | Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

“Government business should happen on government systems which are secure, searchable and allow the appropriate sharing of information, in line with our statutory duties.

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“Scottish Government ministers and staff will not be permitted to use WhatsApp, or any other non-corporate communications channel, to conduct government business.

“To give effect to this, non-corporate mobile messaging applications will, by spring, be removed from devices and our technical environment configured so that they cannot be used.”

Ms Forbes said the Government would produce “very clear guidelines” on what is permitted to ensure staff follow the new rules.

Tory MSP Sandesh Gulhane said the move was “a clear admission by the Scottish Government that what they have been doing and what they did over the Covid pandemic was wrong”, adding: “Not just the use, but the predetermined deletion of messages.”

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Labour MSP Daniel Johnson accused the Government of “editing and removing critical information that should be part of the public record”.

In late 2023, lead counsel to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, Jamie Dawson KC, said most of the messages sent within the Scottish Government had been deleted.

It later transpired a number of senior members of the Government, including John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon, had deleted messages, though both stressed they did not relate to government business.

Former national clinical director Jason Leitch was also criticised for describing deleting WhatsApp messages as a “pre-bed ritual”, while another senior clinician warned colleagues that messages could be published under Freedom of Information legislation.

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Figures in the UK government also came under fire. Alister Jack, the former Scottish secretary, told the Covid inquiry he deleted his WhatsApps to free up storage capacity on his phone.

"If I could turn the clock back knowing what I know now, I would have sought a different solution for my lack of storage capacity,” he said.

Former first minister Humza Yousaf announced an external review into the use of WhatsApp and other messaging services earlier this year.

Ms Martins, who led the review, said she was “grateful to the Scottish Government for the open and constructive way in which they have engaged with me throughout”.

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She said:  “Technologies are changing our lives at home and in the workplace. No organisation can afford to sit back and hope that navigating those changes will come without effort. Values need to be clear, individuals need to engage, and governance needs to be effective.

“The Scottish Government already understands this and there a number of improvements already in train. It is my sincere hope that the recommendations in this review serve as additional fuel for that important journey.”

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