Covid inquiry live – Nicola Sturgeon to give evidence after calling Boris a ‘f****** clown’ on WhatsApp

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Nicola Sturgeon will give evidence to the official Covid inquiry in the present day amid ongoing scrutiny over deleted WhatsApp messages.

Scotland’s former first minister, who resigned final yr, is scheduled to give testimony for a full day in hearings being held in Edinburgh.

Several figures in Ms Sturgeon’s authorities have already confronted questions on the inquiry about their deletion of WhatsApp messages through the pandemic.

Ms Sturgeon has conceded that messages had not been retained on her personal units however stated she has managed to retrieve copies to submit to the probe.

She stated casual messages had been handed over to the inquiry final yr.

Scottish Government ministers and officers have stated choices had been routinely recorded on the official system even when messages had been deleted in step with coverage.

Last week, Ms Sturgeon’s former chief of workers, Liz Lloyd, gave evidence to the inquiry.

After message exchanges between the pair had been proven in evidence, Ms Lloyd denied a determination about visitor limits on weddings through the pandemic was made “on the hoof”.

In one message seen by the inquiry, Ms Sturgeon referred to then prime minister Boris Johnson as a “f****** clown.”