Ministers accused of ‘orchestrated’ deletions

Scottish Government ministers and officials have been accused of “orchestrated and concerted efforts” to delete their Whatsapp messages during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said those who lost loved ones to coronavirus had been “betrayed”, as he accused the Scottish Government of taking “secrecy and cover-up to a new low”.

Mr Ross challenged the SNP over the issue following evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry from some of the key figures during the pandemic.

He spoke out ahead of the Tories challenging the Scottish Government on its “sickening cynicism and self-interest” in a debate on government transparency on Wednesday – the same day that former first minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to appear before the inquiry.

Senior adviser and Scottish national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch confirmed last week he had “not retained any one-toone informal communications in relation to the management of the pandemic in Scotland”. And Liz Lloyd, who was chief of staff to Ms Sturgeon, said the former first minister no longer had her messages from during the pandemic.

Ms Lloyd, giving evidence during the series of hearings that are currently taking place in Edinburgh, said she had been unable to find messages from before September 2020.

Meanwhile, First Minister Humza Yousaf, who was health secretary during the later part of the pandemic, has come under pressure from Tories over apparently conflicting comments about his messages.

Mr Yousaf previously insisted reports he had deleted messages were “not true”, but then told the inquiry that documents showing he “deleted all messages after a month for cybersecurity purposes” were correct.