UK Covid Inquiry: Humza Yousaf apologises 'unreservedly' for Scottish Government's failure to hand over WhatsApp messages

Appearing at the UK Covid Inquiry in Edinburgh, the First Minister said “there is no excuse” for the deletion of WhatsApp messages relating to pandemic decision-making, adding “we should have done better”

UK Covid Inquiry: Humza Yousaf apologises ‘unreservedly’ for Scottish Government’s failure to hand over WhatsApp messages

Humza Yousaf has apologised “unreservedly” for the Scottish Government’s multiple failures to hand over WhatsApp messages to the UK Covid Inquiry.

Appearing at the UK Covid Inquiry in Edinburgh, the First Minister said “there is no excuse” for the deletion of WhatsApp messages relating to pandemic decision-making, adding “we should have done better”.

“Ministers are, and there is an awareness amongst ministers, that any key decisions in relation to government business should be recorded in the corporate record,” Mr Yousaf told the inquiry.

“But I’m afraid that for a long time the corporate mindset of the government was if the corporate record had the record, that was the only thing that was required, when the inquiry has made it clear you were seeking more than that.

“There was a gap on mobile messaging policy.”

Jamie Dawson KC, the lead counsel for the UK Covid Inquiry, said Mr Yousaf appeared to be “a heavy user of WhatsApp”, and asked the First Minister if he used multiple personal phones rather than his government-issued phone during the pandemic – to which Mr Yousaf replied that he did.

Pushed on the deletion of WhatsApp messaging, Mr Yousaf said that the “salient points” of discussions relating to decisions were given to the corporate record by Ministers’ private offices, rather than the verbatim discussions.

“Was it in your habit to give your phone to your private office?,” Mr Dawson asked.

“No, that would not be the usual practice,” said Mr Yousaf.

“I would inform my private office about a decision and salient points to record and pass them on in an email or a call.”

Mr Yousaf added: “Not every sentence, full stop, or apostrophe will be recorded.”

The lead counsel then asked about decisions being made by former first minister Nicola Sturgeon not being cascaded down to cabinet.

Mr Yousaf said: “Given the fast-paced nature of what we were dealing with and the need for urgent decisions to be made, decisions were delegated to the former first minister.

“Cabinet would agree to that, and the former first minister was entrusted to make those decisions.

“On the rare occasions these decisions were made to respond to a particular development, and therefore not cascaded to the rest of cabinet until that decision was announced – that happened on the rare occasion.

“Often special advisors and government officials worked hard to ensure the cabinet was informed when decisions were made as opposed to when they were announced.”

When asked whether Ms Sturgeon would make decisions without informing cabinet, Mr Yousaf said: “Those times would be very rare.

“The former first minister would seek cabinet’s delegated authority, but there was an understanding that in exceptional cases, where epidemiology of the virus changed, or there was a sudden spike in cases in 24 hours, that decisions had to be made there and then.

“There was an understanding this was not normal times and decisions could be made by the first minister.”

Earlier in the day, Mr Yousaf announced that there will be an externally-led review into the use of mobile messaging apps and non-corporate technology in the Scottish Government.

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Mr Yousaf offered an “unreserved apology” to families bereaved by Covid over his government’s handling of WhatsApp messaging, and said: “I do believe that there are challenges in relation to our use of WhatsApp, it has not been frankly the Government’s finest hour in relation to handling those requests and I put my hands up to that, unlike of course other governments.

“That’s why I have commissioned officials to deliver an externally-led review, not a Government review but an externally-led review, into the use of mobile messaging apps and the use of non-corporate technology in the Scottish Government, and that should take particular account of our interaction with statutory public inquiries.

“When it comes to being transparent, the Government handed over 28,000 messages, 19,000 documents, I myself as First Minister of the government have handed over my WhatsApp messages.”

In response, the lawyer representing the Scottish Covid Bereaved group, Aamer Anwar, said: “Too little, too late. On the day that Humza Yousaf gives evidence to announce this review, he has been First Minister for ten months, we had been asking for WhatsApps since March 2023 and once again the Scottish Covid Bereaved were offered yet another apology – this just adds insult to injury.”