Come clean over your Covid WhatsApp messages, Sturgeon urged

NICOLA STURGEON has been urged to finally “come clean” on whether she deleted her WhatsApp messages during the pandemic ahead of the Covid Inquiry coming to Scotland this month.

Ms Sturgeon is expected to be the star witness at the inquiry in Edinburgh for three weeks of evidence hearings, starting on Jan 16, on how her government handled the pandemic. However, the former first minister has repeatedly refused to say whether she deleted her WhatsApp messages after the inquiry complained that key decision-makers had failed to hand over the information.

Ms Sturgeon told reporters last October that she was not allowed to say if she had deleted her messages because it was part of her confidential evidence.

This was contradicted by the inquiry, which said witness statements and other written documents must be kept under wraps until they are used in the hearings. But it confirmed that there were no other restrictions on what witnesses can say to the media about their actions during the pandemic.

Humza Yousaf, the First Minister, and Kate Forbes, the former Scottish finance minister, both confirmed in November they did not destroy their messages without reading directly from their written witness statements.

WhatsApp messages have formed a key part of the evidence at the Covid Inquiry on how the UK Government ‘Why can’t she just give a simple and straightforward answer to a simple and straightforward question?’

handled the pandemic, with figures such as Dominic Cummings, the former Downing Street chief adviser, Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, and Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, handing over their messages. However,

Mr Johnson said he had lost about 5,000 of his communications on the app.

Ms Sturgeon is expected to give evidence in the final week of hearings, starting on Jan 29. Her spokesman told

she was “committed to full transparency”.

However, she continued to refuse to disclose whether her messages had been deleted, prompting the Tories to argue she should “come clean”.

Stephen Kerr, a Scottish Tory MSP, said: “Nicola Sturgeon can make a new year’s resolution to be upfront and honest with the people of Scotland.

“What is Nicola Sturgeon hiding? Why can’t she just give a simple and straightforward answer to a simple and straightforward question?”

Ms Sturgeon’s spokesman said: “Nicola has provided a number of written statements to the UK inquiry – totalling hundreds of pages – and welcomes the opportunity to give oral evidence to the inquiry again this month when she will answer all questions put to her.”