Sturgeon Admits Deleting Messages But Denies Major Decisions Were Made Using WhatsApp

Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave evidence at the UK COVID-19 Inquiry in Edinburgh on Wednesday, denying she used WhatsApp to make policy decisions, but admitting that she had deleted messages. Initially, when asked by barrister Jamie Dawson, KC whether she had deleted messages, Ms. Sturgeon said she “did not retain them.” Pushed as to whether she was making a distinction between “deletion” and not retaining something, she agreed she had deleted them, and said this was owing to security concerns. She said she deleted the messages, “In line with advice I had always been given, which was not to retain conversations like that on a phone that could be lost or stolen.”...