THE Scottish LibDems have demanded Nicola Sturgeon delivers a personal statement in Holyrood on whether she deleted all WhatsApp messages relevant to the UK Covid Inquiry.
The former Scottish first minister clarified in a statement on Saturday that the inquiry does have messages from her relating to the pandemic.
She is due to give evidence to the probe, which is currently holding three weeks of hearings in Edinburgh, at the end of January.
READ MORE: UK Government accused of 'brass neck' over Scotland gender bill costs
Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Scottish LibDems leader, accused Sturgeon of “deceiving” bereaved families after the inquiry was told on Friday that messages sent and received by the former SNP leader had been erased.
He has now reportedly written to Sturgeon to demand she face scrutiny in the Scottish Parliament.
Cole-Hamilton said the former first minister has to clarify whether she “misled bereaved families” and the UK Covid inquiry.
He said in a letter: “It is only right that you address these questions in a personal statement to the Scottish Parliament and face questions from MSPs in public.”
Cole-Hamilton added: “Lives and livelihoods hinged on decisions that you and your government were taking.
“By erasing the discussions that underpinned such decisions, however, you and others at the top of your government may have denied families the answers, the understanding and the closure that they have sought so desperately to obtain.
“Those grieving families, those failed, may be forever denied the full story behind the calls you made.”
Cole-Hamilton urged Sturgeon to also ensure MSPs can put questions to the former first minister following any statement.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf: Keir Starmer must 'respect' Scotland on independence
But on Saturday, Sturgeon wrote on Twitter/X that her informal messages had not been retained on her own devices but were later obtained and submitted to the inquiry last year, along with handwritten notes.
“Contrary to the impression given in some coverage, the Inquiry does have messages between me and those I most regularly communicated with through informal means," she wrote.
Sturgeon added: “Although these had not been retained on my own device, I was able to obtain copies which I submitted to the Inquiry last year.
“To be clear, I conducted the Covid response through formal processes from my office in St Andrews House, not through WhatsApp or any other informal messaging platform. I was not a member of any WhatsApp groups.
“The number of people I communicated with through informal messaging at all was limited.
“Also, any handwritten notes made by me were passed to my private office to be dealt with and recorded as appropriate. Throughout the entire process, I acted in line with Scottish Government policy.”
In evidence to the inquiry on Friday, Jamie Dawson KC, lead counsel, said “messages were not retained, they were deleted in routine tidying up of inboxes or changes of phones, unable to retrieve messages” concerning Sturgeon’s correspondence.
The SNP has been asked for comment.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel