Sturgeon admits deleting WhatsApps – but denies politicising Covid crisis

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Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon fought again tears on the Covid inquiry as she denied utilizing the pandemic for political functions.

The ex-SNP chief choked up as she rejected claims that she had pushed for fights with Boris Johnson’s authorities to spice up her Scottish independence trigger.

She insisted that she had not been “thinking of political opportunity”, as she was grilled about WhatsApps which confirmed she needed public arguments with Mr Johnson.

Ms Sturgeon additionally lastly admitted that she had deleted her personal WhatsApp messages with officers and ministers, but tried to minimize the significance of the messages.

The former first minister mentioned she “did not make extensive use of informal messaging” – claiming that her officers’ dialogue of deleting messages was merely “light-hearted” banter.

And she grew to become visibly emotional as she spoke of being “overwhelmed” at instances throughout the crisis. “There’s a large part of me wishes that I hadn’t been, but I was, and I wanted to be the best first minister.”

It got here as Ms Sturgeon vehemently denied that the federal government had politicised the pandemic to pursue Scottish independence, stating that might have been “robbing people of their livelihoods” and would “absolutely” have been a betrayal of the Scottish public.

She advised the Covid inquiry that she had by no means thought much less about Scottish independence as she did throughout the course of the pandemic.

The former SNP boss additionally mentioned that she “will absolutely assert” that no selections had been made for political causes, “or that had been influenced ultimately by issues for the constitutional argument”.

Tory cabinet minister Michael Gove previously accused the Scottish government of seeking “political conflict” with Westminster government during the pandemic.

Messages between Ms Sturgeon and her top adviser Liz Lloyd showed they had discussed a “good old-fashioned rammy” with Boris Johnson’s government over the furlough scheme. It emerged that Ms Sturgeon called Mr Johnson a “f***ing clown”, while Ms Lloyd said she sought a “spat with a purpose”.

The former SNP leader, fighting back tears, told the inquiry: “The idea that in those horrendous days, weeks, I was thinking of political opportunity” was “not the case”. She added: “It wasn’t true.”

Sturgeon cabinet meeting minutes from June 2020 show that her ministers agreed to consider how the Covid crisis could be used to boost support for Scottish independence.

But Ms Sturgeon pointed to a 2020 letter from her then constitution secretary, Mike Russell, to Mr Gove saying the Scottish government was suspending all work on an independence referendum.

Ms Sturgeon apologised when grilled about her statement to a Channel 4 journalist during the Covid crisis saying she would be fully transparent in allowing access to her WhatsApp messages. She said she could have been more “clear”.

She admitted that she deleted these informal messages – but said it was in line with official advice because “salient” points were all recorded on her government’s corporate record.

Amid the storm of controversy over deleted messages, Ms Sturgeon conceded that WhatsApp had become “too common” a means of communication within the Scottish government during the crisis.

But she insisted that she exchanged WhatsApps with no more than a “handful” of people – including key ally Ms Lloyd, and the now first minister Humza Yousaf, who was health secretary.

The ex-SNP leader also dismissed messages sent by senior civil servants and officials about the deletion of WhatsApp messages as “light-hearted”.

Ken Thompson, the Scottish authorities’s director-general for technique, wrote in August 2020 that “plausible deniability are my middle names”. He additionally advised colleagues they need to “know where the ‘clear chat’ button is” on WhatsApp.

Ms Sturgeon mentioned: “I look at that exchange and what I don’t see is an exchange about the decisions that were taken, I see a light-hearted discussion between officials.”

Scottish Labour chief Anas Sarwar mentioned Ms Sturgeon’s behaviour has “smashed” belief within the SNP, as he accused the Scottish authorities of getting a “culture of secrecy and cover-up”.

The Scottish Conservative chief Douglas Ross mentioned the inquiry hearings had proven Ms Sturgeon to be a “liar” and a “fraud”, as he accused the previous first minister of “destroying vital evidence”.

And one of many Scottish Covid Bereaved group mentioned Ms Sturgeon’s “crocodile tears aren’t washing with me” as they reacted to her proof. Pamela Thomas misplaced her brother, James Cameron, mentioned: “I don’t think they’re capable of actually telling the truth or being transparent.”

Meanwhile, Ms Sturgeon additionally rejected accusations of “secrecy” throughout the pandemic. She claimed she didn’t have “carte blanche” to make selections on her personal, as she was grilled about her so-called “gold command” conferences of solely senior cupboard ministers.

Inquiry counsel Jamie Dawson KC put it to her that she “did not like light to be shone” on the way in which selections had been taken. “I would very strongly refute that,” Ms Sturgeon replied. “I did not have carte blanche, wide latitude to take decisions – and nor should I have had.”

Ms Sturgeon confirmed that no minutes had been taken of the gold command conferences. “There were not minutes taken of them in the way you would have cabinet minutes because they were not decision-making meetings.”

Defending small conferences, she advised the inquiry she did “not have a great deal of patience” with the thought of “everybody” desirous to be within the room – saying mentioned there was an inclination for a “cast of thousands” to need to be within the room along with her.

And Ms Sturgeon additionally admitted that it was a mistake to make use of a SNP electronic mail account to conduct some authorities enterprise with public well being skilled Professor Devi Sridhar. “On reflection, perhaps I shouldn’t have done that.”

Ms Sturgeon additionally mentioned she regretted not locking down “a week, two weeks” sooner than Mr Johnson’s UK authorities did. She mentioned it was one “of the many regrets I have”.