UK Covid Inquiry: Who is Ken Thomson? What has the former senior Scottish Government civil servant said about Covid WhatsApp messages and Nicola Sturgeon?

We take a look at everything you need to know about Ken Thomson – the former Scottish civil servant named on Friday in relation to the deletion of WhatsApp messages

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is only just over one week in to its three-week stint in Edinburgh – and already the revelations are hitting the headlines.

A lot of the people being questioned are names that will be familiar to Scots from the coronavirus pandemic – former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, her deputy John Swinney, former health secretary Jeane Freeman, and chief medical officer Professor Jason Leitch.

But one person who has raised quite a few eyebrows is a name that is perhaps not so well-known – former civil servant Ken Thomson. We take a look at who Mr Thomson is, and why his name has surfaced at the inquiry.

Ken Thomson appearing at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

Who is Ken Thomson?

He is the former Scottish Government’s director-general for strategy and external affairs.

According to the government, while he was in the role he was responsible for intergovernmental relations, the constitution, and Scotland’s relationship with the EU. He also worked on a number of major projects such as Operation Unicorn, the plan for how Scotland dealt with the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Mr Thomson held the role for 12 years before appointed chair of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland’s regulatory board. He started in the new position in January.

How did he get one of the top jobs in government?

According to his LinkedIn profile, he has been a civil servant since the early 1990s, when he was private secretary to Scotland Office ministers in the UK Government.

He was Donald Dewar’s principal private secretary between 1997 and 1999, and prior to 2005 worked on preparing Scotland for devolution. From 2005 onwards he was a senior advisor to Scottish ministers on constitutional policy, including working on the 2014 independence referendum.

He came in for criticism last year after it was revealed he had joked his job was to break up the UK.

Mr Thomson held the position of director-general for strategy and external affairs from 2011 to 2023, and at the start of 2024 he was given a Companions of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the New Year Honours.

What is the UK Covid-19 Inquiry?

This is a UK-wide public inquiry into the governance and decision-making during the coronavirus pandemic.

Politicians, government officials and statisticians will all be questioned on how decisions such as entering lockdown were made during the pandemic. The inquiry is sitting in Edinburgh for three weeks at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) while it focuses on the Scottish response.

It is important to note this is separate from the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry.

What happened when Ken Thomson gave evidence?

Mr Thomson was questioned by the inquiry on Friday, and much of the coverage since has been focused on missing WhatsApp messages.

Last week it was revealed Nicola Sturgeon and others didn’t keep their WhatsApp messages. However, the former first minister says she was merely following government policy at the time.

Ministers were asked to make copies of any WhatsApp messages they deemed were important, and then delete them.

Mr Thomson comes into sharp focus here because the inquiry was shown various WhatsApp messages showing him instructing others to delete their messages. In one group, he advised members to “delete this thread”, and in another he said: “Just to remind you (seriously), this is discoverable under FOI [freedom of information].

“Know where the ‘clear chat’ button is.”

While he was giving evidence, Mr Thomson defended these comments as they were posted in “informal groups”. He also denied there was a “culture amongst people who are prominent advisors or decision makers in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland to delete their messages”.

Has anyone else been found to encourage deleting messages?

Yes - on Monday the inquiry heard Professor Gregor Smith, Scotland’s chief medical officer, told his colleagues to delete their WhatsApp conversations on a daily basis.

He told the inquiry: “There was also advice we were given in discussion with the-then director-general, reminding us that official business shouldn’t be done within these mediums and there should be regular deletion, partly for security purposes, and that it shouldn’t be seen as a secure medium.”