Use of WhatsApp ‘too common’ in Scottish government, Sturgeon says, but was not used for Covid decisions
WhatsApp had become – maybe – too common a means of communication in government, says Sturgeon.
But she insists that government decisions were not being taken on the platform.
One of the reasons why she doesn’t believe it should be used for government decision making is that when politicians make public statements they should think very carefully about the scope for what they say being misinterpreted.
“When you send things on WhatsApp you sometimes don’t think – including me – very carefully about how they can be interpreted,” she adds.
Key events
Dawson is pressing Sturgeon a bit further on how seriously she took the retention of records.
“I knew I had operated in line with a policy I had operated in line with to ensure that conversations with others in government should not be kept in a phone that could be lost or destroyed,” she replies.
Surgeon is also asked about an exchange she had with a Channel 4 journalist who had asked her if she would ensure that all emails and Whatsapps would be retained. You can view it here
‘Can you guarantee to the bereaved families that you will disclose emails, WhatsApps, private emails if you’ve been using them. Whatever. That nothing will be off limits in this inquiry?’
My question to @NicolaSturgeon August 2021
— Ciaran Jenkins (@C4Ciaran) October 29, 2023
“I also knew that anything of any relevance or substance would be properly recorded in the Scottish government system,” she replies.
She says that she wants to underline that in her case “that communication” [Whatsapp] was extremely limited and would not apply to matters of substantive decision making.
But that wasn’t the question that Channel 4 had asked her, Dawson says.
Sturgeon apologises if her answer to the journalist was not “as clear” and wants to give the inquiry a “personal assurance” that the inquiry has “everything and everything” germane to her decision making during the crisis.
Sturgeon says she can’t recall receiving an email which a Scottish government civil servant had sent out with a “do not destroy notification for members of the administration to remind them to retain records.
“I do not. As far as I am aware I did not receive that,” Sturgeon tells Dawson, who goes on to suggest she would recall such a communication was sent out.
“I don’t think I would have required to see that to know that matters that were relevant, matters of substance, salient matters that would be relevant to the inquiry.. should be retained.”
Use of WhatsApp ‘too common’ in Scottish government, Sturgeon says, but was not used for Covid decisions
WhatsApp had become – maybe – too common a means of communication in government, says Sturgeon.
But she insists that government decisions were not being taken on the platform.
One of the reasons why she doesn’t believe it should be used for government decision making is that when politicians make public statements they should think very carefully about the scope for what they say being misinterpreted.
“When you send things on WhatsApp you sometimes don’t think – including me – very carefully about how they can be interpreted,” she adds.
Speaking about previous messages which the Inquiry has seen, Sturgeon says she is not sure if she has seen any messages which contained material that the Scottish public would not otherwise have seen.
“It might be for the Scottish public to judge,” interjects Jamie Dawson KC, for the Inquiry.
“Of course..” replies Sturgeon, who insists that it was an “open conversation” with the public throughout the pandemic.
The WhatsApp issue has come up with haste and Sturgeon says that she was never a member of any Whatsapp groups and interacted through “informal messaging systems” with no more than a dozen people.
Principally, she would have communicated with her former chief of staff Liz Lloyd and Humza Yousaf, her successor as Scotland’s First Minister and SNP leader but who was a member of her government at the time.
Communication of that nature was not used by me for anything other than routine exchanges and would have been “littered” with things like “there’s a note coming from me to you.”
Sturgeon says she operated on the basis that she would ensure that anything in communications of an important nature was otherwise recorded on the Scottish government system.
Is it still your position today that you and the Scottish government were open “open, transparent and accountable” not just in your actions but in your words?, asks Jamie Dawson KC
“Yes, that is still my position. Openess and transparency with the Scottish public was very important to me from the outset,” says Sturgeon.
There will have been misjudgements and there will have been – on reflection – instances on which we could have done better, she adds.
“You are Nicola Sturgeon,” the former SNP leader is asked after she takes her seat.
“I am..”
And with that the questioning is underway. Sturgeon confirms she has provided some additional material to the inquiry last week, in addition to her earlier statements.
Question immediately focuses on communications during the pandemic.
Nicola Sturgeon gives evidence at UK Covid inquiry
Ben Quinn
Nicola Sturgeon, the former Scottish First Minister, is appearing before the Covid Inquiry in Edinburgh in what is the biggest day of the probe’s focus on that part of the UK.
For long the pre-eminent figure in Scottish politics, Sturgeon has experienced a dramatic fall from grace in the time since she was at the helm of her government’s response to the pandemic.
But while she was lauded by many at the time, she faces a range of awkward questions during an examination that is likely to see her draw on all of her experience as a lawyer and political representative.
Those questions are likely to cover the following areas, and more:
The inquiry has previously heard that the former SNP leaded did not retain any of her WhatsApp messages. Why?
Sturgeon had pledged to hand over all of her communications from the pandemic. In what circumstances did they disappear or were deleted?
Guidance on the use of WhatsApp was issued by the Scottish government in 2021. Did she follow those rules and, if not, why not?
Sturgon has been accused of seeking to use the pandemic as a way of leveraging support for Scottish independence. Did she seek to deliberately engage in a politically self-serving row with the UK government over issues such as the Furlough Scheme?
This covering her answers to those questions – and anything else – on this liveblog, along with in-person reporting at the Inquiry from my colleagues Severin Carrell and Libby Brooks.
