Sturgeon’s top doctor told colleagues to erase messages

SCOTLAND’S most senior doctor told colleagues during the pandemic to delete their Whatsapp messages daily, the UK Covid Inquiry has heard as the secrecy scandal enveloping Nicola Sturgeon intensified.

Sir Gregor Smith, Scotland’s chief medical officer (CMO), encouraged the practice in a conversation with Graham Ellis, an expert in geriatric medicine, on July 14 2021. Mr Ellis was appointed deputy chief medical officer the following month.

He also told the inquiry, which is sitting in Edinburgh, that he deleted his messages “if not at the end of every day, then certainly on a frequent basis” and encouraged others to do the same.

Messages from the “CMO weekly call” Whatsapp group shown to the inquiry showed Mr Ellis asking whether the conversation could be made public through Freedom of Information (FOI).

One of the topics had been cannabis and Mr Ellis joked that he had his own supply. He asked: “Hope this isn’t FOI able?” Sir Gregor answered: “Delete at the end of every day...”

Mr Ellis responded with two emojis, one showing a thumbs-up and the other a face crying with laughter. When pressed why he had deleted his messages, Sir Gregor told the inquiry: “Scottish government advice in relation to this was not to retain information for longer than it was necessary.” His testimony comes after the inquiry heard last week that Ms Sturgeon and John Swinney, the former deputy first minister, had also deleted their messages.

Prof Jason Leitch, Scotland’s national clinical director, told his colleagues that “Whatsapp deletion is a pre-bed ritual” – less than 24 hours after the UK inquiry was unveiled. But the UK Government wrote to all devolved governments in June 2021, Feb 2022 and Oct 2022 asking for material of potential relevance to be kept and not destroyed.

Under the Inquiries Act 2005, it is a criminal offence to intentionally suppress, conceal, alter or destroy a “relevant” document. Offenders face a fine or even prison. Craig Hoy, Scottish Tory chairman, said: “This shocking culture of cover-up, and edicts to delete messages, came from the very top – Nicola Sturgeon and her senior SNP ministers.”