Scottish First Minister Accused of Misleading Parliament Over Timing of Covid-19 WhatsApp Message Inquiry Requests

UK Covid Inquiry had asked for pertinent WhatsApp messages nine months prior, contradicting statements by First Minister Humza Yousaf and his Deputy Shona Robison that the requests were made only in September.

• Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf and his Deputy Shona Robison have been accused of misleading Parliament over the timeline of requests made by the UK Covid Inquiry for WhatsApp messages related to the pandemic. They previously stated that requests began in September, whereas the actual requests began nine months earlier.
• Robison supplied the Scottish Parliament with a detailed timeline following a request from the UK Covid Inquiry, revealing the government was initially asked for WhatsApp messages and other 'informal messaging systems' in November 2022.
• The Scottish government asserts that privacy concerns required a formal request under Section 21 of the Inquiries Act 2005 before they were able to submit over 14,000 messages by a November 6 deadline.
• Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, and Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour deputy leader, accused Yousaf and Robison of deliberately misleading Parliament. Ross called for immediate action to set the record straight.
• Yousaf denies misleading Parliament and admits the Scottish government may have interpreted the inquiry's requests 'too narrowly'. He compares the transparency of his government favorably to the UK government, which he claimed had contested the inquiry's requests in court.

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