Use of WhatsApp is ‘too common’ in Scottish Government, says Sturgeon, but has not been used for Covid decisions
WhatsApp had become – perhaps – too common a means of communication within government, says Sturgeon.
But she insists that government decisions were not made on the platform.
One reason she doesn’t think the government should use it to make decisions is that when politicians make public statements, they should think very carefully about the risks of their words being misinterpreted.
“When you send messages on WhatsApp, you sometimes don’t think – myself included – about how they might be interpreted,” she adds.
Key events
Dawson further emphasizes to Sturgeon how seriously she takes keeping the files.
“I knew that I had acted in accordance with a policy that I had followed to ensure that conversations with other members of government were not kept on a phone that could be lost or destroyed,” she responds.
The surgeon is also questioned about an exchange she had with a Channel 4 journalist who asked her if she would ensure that all emails and Whatsapps were kept. You can see it here
“Can you assure the bereaved families that you will disclose emails, WhatsApps, private emails if you use them.” Never mind. That nothing will be prohibited in this investigation?
My question to @NicolaSturgeon August 2021
-Ciaran Jenkins (@C4Ciaran) October 29, 2023
“I also knew that anything relevant or substantial would be properly recorded in the Scottish government system,” she replies.
She said she wanted to emphasize that in her case “this communication” (Whatsapp) was extremely limited and would not apply to questions of substantive decision-making.
But that wasn’t the question Channel 4 asked him, Dawson says.
Sturgeon apologizes if her response to journalist was not ‘as clear’ and wants to give inquiry ‘personal assurance’ that inquiry has ‘anything and everything’ relevant to her decision-making during the crisis.
Sturgeon says she does not recall receiving an email from a Scottish Government official with a “do not destroy” notice to members of the administration reminding them to keep the records.
“No. As far as I know, I have not received that,” Sturgeon told Dawson, who went on to suggest that she would remember such a communication having been sent.
“I don’t think I would have needed to see that to know that the relevant questions, the substantive questions, the salient questions that would be relevant to the investigation … should be withheld.”
Use of WhatsApp is ‘too common’ in Scottish Government, says Sturgeon, but has not been used for Covid decisions
WhatsApp had become – perhaps – too common a means of communication within government, says Sturgeon.
But she insists that government decisions were not made on the platform.
One reason she doesn’t think the government should use it to make decisions is that when politicians make public statements, they should think very carefully about the risks of their words being misinterpreted.
“When you send messages on WhatsApp, you sometimes don’t think – myself included – about how they might be interpreted,” she adds.
Speaking about previous messages the inquiry has seen, Sturgeon says she is not sure if she has seen messages containing material that the Scottish public would not have otherwise seen.
“It is perhaps for the Scottish public to judge,” interjects Jamie Dawson KC, for the inquiry.
“Of course…” replies Sturgeon, who insists it was an “open conversation” with the public throughout the pandemic.
The WhatsApp problem came about in a hurry and Sturgeon says she was never a member of a Whatsapp group and interacted through “informal messaging systems” with no more than a dozen people.
She is said to have communicated in particular with her former chief of staff Liz Lloyd and Humza Yousaf, her successor at the head of the SNP and Scottish First Minister but who was then a member of her government.
Communication of this nature was only used by me for routine exchanges and would have been “littered” with things like “there is a note from me to you”.
Sturgeon says she acted on the basis that she would ensure that anything relating to communications of an important nature would otherwise be recorded in the Scottish government system.
Is your position still today that you and the Scottish Government were open, transparent and accountable, not only in your actions but also in your words?, asks Jamie Dawson KC.
“Yes, that’s still my position. Openness and transparency to the Scottish public was very important to me from the start,” says Sturgeon.
There will have been errors of judgment and there will have been – upon reflection – cases in which we could have done better, she adds.
“Are you Nicola Sturgeon,” she is asked after taking her seat.
“I am..”
And there, the questioning is underway. Sturgeon confirms she provided additional evidence to the inquiry last week, in addition to her earlier statements.
The question immediately focuses on communications during the pandemic.
Nicola Sturgeon gives evidence to UK Covid inquiry
Ben Quinn
Nicola Sturgeon, the former first minister of Scotland, appears before the Covid inquiry in Edinburgh on what is the biggest day of the inquiry into this part of the UK.
Long a prominent figure in Scottish politics, Sturgeon has suffered a dramatic fall from grace since leading her government’s response to the pandemic.
But while she was praised by many at the time, she faces a series of tricky questions in a review that will likely see her draw on all her experience as a lawyer and political representative.
These questions are likely to cover the following areas, and much more:
The inquest has already heard that the former SNP leader did not keep any of her WhatsApp messages. For what?
Sturgeon had pledged to hand over all her communications relating to the pandemic. Under what circumstances did they disappear or be deleted?
Guidelines on the use of WhatsApp were published by the Scottish Government in 2021. Has it followed these rules and, if not, why not?
Sturgon has been accused of seeking to use the pandemic as a means of garnering support for Scottish independence. Has she deliberately sought to engage in a politically self-serving row with the UK government over issues such as the furlough scheme?
This covers his responses to these questions – and anything else – on this live blog, as well as in-person reporting during the investigation by my colleagues Severin Carrell and Libby Brooks.
