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Scotland’s former first minister has pushed back at suggestions that her handling of the coronavirus pandemic was marked by secrecy, centralised decision-making and the pursuit of domestic political advantage.
Nicola Sturgeon admitted to deleting WhatsApp messages during her testimony to the Covid-19 inquiry sitting in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
But she said this was in line with government regulations requiring the removal of sensitive information from phones that could be mislaid while still recording substantive discussion around policy.
She also rejected claims that the government prioritised political point-scoring in pursuit of the Scottish National party’s prize of independence rather than dealing with the health emergency.
“I don’t think in my entire life that I ever thought less about independence than during the pandemic, particularly during the early stages,” she said.
“None of those decisions were influenced by political decisions or trying to gain an advantage for independence. I was solely motivated to keep people as safe as possible.”
The clarity of communication during Sturgeon’s daily Covid updates to the public drew plaudits, but revelations around the inquiry have raised further questions about her leadership’s transparency and competence.
Visibly emotional, she said she regarded coronavirus as a “catastrophe”, rather than a political opportunity. She admitted to feeling overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge and a responsibility to carry out her responsibilities as well as she could.
“In the early days of the pandemic, we were all trying our best in almost impossible circumstances,” she said.
Craig Hoy, Scottish Conservative chair, described her comments as “a desperate and cynical attempt to refute compelling evidence of her secrecy and politicisation of the pandemic — evidence that was obtained because she deleted all her WhatsApp messages”.
Sturgeon said her use of WhatsApp was “extremely limited” and rarely related to decision-making, focusing more on logistics and information exchange.
“The public could see the decisions and reasoning behind them from the public record,” she said. “On a daily basis, there was an open conversation with the public. We went through the balances and invidious nature of the choices we were facing then.”
Sturgeon’s legacy has been tarnished by a police probe into SNP finances, the government’s record in health and education, and controversies over gender legislation. Since stepping down last year, she has been arrested, but not charged, in relation to the investigation.
