Health minister ‘turned disappearing Whatsapps on’ during Covid
THE Welsh health minister turned on “disappearing messages” on Whatsapp during the pandemic, the Covid Inquiry has heard.
Vaughan Gething, who is running to be first minister, has become the latest Cabinet member to be implicated in the ongoing scandal surrounding deleted text messages. The public inquiry also heard that senior government advisers agreed to “clear out Whatsapp chats once a week” during the crisis.
In her opening statement to the inquiry, Nia Gowman, representing the campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru, said the disclosed messages show “special advisers reminding themselves and others that they had agreed to “clear out Whatsapp chat once a week”. They show Jane Runeckles, the most senior special adviser for the First Minister, and Vaughan Gething, Health Minister, turning on disappearing messages”.
Ms Gowman added Mr Drakeford was also “regularly using Whatsapp to discuss policy, announcements, and even seek clarification on the rules”, despite previously telling the Senedd he did not. She added the revelations were “questionable and contrary to the words of the First Minister’s official spokesman, who said to the press on Nov 7 2023 that staff were regularly reminded of the need to maintain and retain robust records relating to decisions taken throughout the pandemic”.
Tom Poole KC, one of the lead counsel to the Covid Inquiry, said at yesterday’s hearing: “There are instances where the inquiry has received evidence that informal communications have been deleted by the participants.”
Andrew Kinnier KC, counsel for the Welsh Government, told the inquiry that “neither Welsh ministers nor senior officials used Whatsapp, or indeed any other form of informal communication as a substitute for, or a supplemental means of, decision making”.
It has been confirmed that Mr Gething will appear before the inquiry in the coming weeks when he is likely to be quizzed about the deletion of messages.
Asked at a TV debate last week if he had deleted Whatsapps, Mr Gething said: “Everything I have got I have provided to the inquiry.”