Recent developments in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry have brought to light issues surrounding the Scottish Government's handling of the pandemic under the leadership of Nicola Sturgeon, whose reputation is now on the line. New polling indicates a majority of Scots no longer trust Sturgeon. The inquiry has revealed that former Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman and current Finance Secretary Kate Forbes did not delete WhatsApp messages during the pandemic, contrasting with other top SNP figures who did. John Swinney, the former Deputy First Minister, admitted to manually deleting texts to Sturgeon. Furthermore, there were no minutes kept from Sturgeon's 'gold command' meetings, and Forbes expressed surprise at not being informed about a group that made key decisions during the pandemic. Former First Minister Alex Salmond has suggested that the missing messages could be extraordinarily damaging, and Sturgeon is set to face a Covid inquiry showdown amid ongoing scrutiny and claims that she deleted WhatsApp messages and potentially misused the pandemic to further the Scottish independence drive.
Watch live as @NicolaSturgeon answers questions at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and will give evidence amid ongoing scrutiny around the deletion of WhatsApp messages https://t.co/uU6gr6zAgD
WARNING: Flash photography Former first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has arrived at the COVID Inquiry in Edinburgh. She is set to give evidence from 10am. https://t.co/jfASHvo2dv 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube https://t.co/P9IM1VJCYL
Watch and follow live as Scotland's former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gives evidence to the UK Covid Inquiry ▶️ https://t.co/gKr4Gv56o4 https://t.co/Oosajq22hG
Watch live: Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is giving evidence at the COVID Inquiry - https://t.co/xItZsH7tea https://t.co/a1iH6ELHig
Nicola Sturgeon is giving evidence at the UK Covid-19 inquiry in Edinburgh today as scrutiny over her handling of the pandemic continues to intensify in Scotland and Westminster. 🔓 This article is free to read Follow our live updates ⬇️ https://t.co/g4kjh1OOFE
Nicola Sturgeon is heckled as she arrives at Covid inquiry to face grilling on claims she deleted swathes of WhatsApps and 'weaponised' pandemic for Scottish independence drive https://t.co/GqAhyRRYzV https://t.co/aDLEMu6CjC
Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has arrived to give evidence to the UK Covid Inquiry at a hearing in Edinburgh. Follow all the latest news throughout the day ➡️ https://t.co/6XJaBP5p70 https://t.co/2YWZSySFZy
The anticipation is palpable as Nicola Sturgeon arrives for what could be her biggest interrogation yet Read more 🔗 https://t.co/4yorJd2zj9
Nicola Sturgeon is to give evidence at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry amid ongoing scrutiny around the deletion of WhatsApp messages Follow the latest updates on our live blog ⬇️ https://t.co/8swmMlfl0V https://t.co/j3OcBMouad
.@NicolaSturgeon is to begin giving evidence at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry amid ongoing scrutiny around the deletion of WhatsApp messages ✍️: @neilpooran https://t.co/ASbpAAXHLR
'Whatever is in those messages must be extraordinarily damaging.' Former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond tells @AndrewMarr9 that Nicola Sturgeon's missing Covid WhatsApp messages shone 'an unforgiving light on the Scottish government.' https://t.co/hTgZH6COfO
Nicola Sturgeon's reputation on the line at UK Covid inquiry https://t.co/qDiquFWf9z
Nicola Sturgeon is to begin giving evidence at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry amid ongoing scrutiny around the deletion of WhatsApp messages. Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP: “What I want to know is where are the messages and can we get them? I think the public have been misled!” #TalkTV https://t.co/bkrwCwMqQp
Nicola Sturgeon to face interrogation after WhatsApp messages deleted Read more 🔗 https://t.co/bb9B8lpAez
EDDIE BARNES: The end of Nicola Sturgeon? Most Scots don't trust her. She used the pandemic to turn North against South. Today she faces a Covid inquiry showdown that could finish her career for good... and crush her independence dream https://t.co/DS8Z9phveJ https://t.co/5w3x94HQ0u
🔴 Nicola Sturgeon did not tell Kate Forbes about a group that made key decisions during Covid https://t.co/19dqjyMOZ3
Swinney messages to Sturgeon and Yousaf deleted 'manually', inquiry hears https://t.co/Kov4b25TNr
Kate Forbes 'did not delete' WhatsApps during pandemic and 'surprised' no minutes exist from key meetings https://t.co/WelwkBggWh
Covid inquiry: John Swinney manually deleted texts to Nicola Sturgeon https://t.co/aeGPQiQEvy
No minutes kept of Nicola Sturgeon’s ‘gold command’ meetings, Covid inquiry told https://t.co/95q3ZvU76d
Kate Forbes says she's 'surprised' no minutes were kept from Nicola Sturgeon's key meetings on Covid - as former minister reveals she was among few top SNP figures NOT to delete her pandemic WhatsApps https://t.co/l2uEEBi8L0 https://t.co/I26WsOWqKe
NEW: Scotland’s former Deputy First Minister John Swinney admits he “manually deleted” all text messages between him and Nicola Sturgeon during the pandemic. @SkyNews https://t.co/OGjphfp3AS
Another one (after Jeane Freeman) who didn’t follow the supposed Scottish government policy of mass WhatsApp deletion. So either there were ministers just ignoring the rules or it wasn’t really Scottish govt policy to delete emails. https://t.co/rMmcWt3aCn
Kate Forbes, who joined the Scottish Government Cabinet just weeks before lockdown in 2020, is giving evidence at the UK Covid Inquiry. She did not delete any of her WhatsApp messages with other SNP ministers or special advisers during the pandemic. Unlike some.
Kate Forbes gives evidence to UK Covid Inquiry Watch live here ➡️ https://t.co/gZfWuFnpwG https://t.co/X1EbAzaxFo
Former health secretary Jeane Freeman has told the UK Covid inquiry that it “never occurred” to her to delete WhatsApp messages from her phone https://t.co/cMOAk6XiHL
'It never occurred to me’ to delete WhatsApp messages. Former Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman is giving evidence to the UK Covid inquiry in Edinburgh. Follow live⬇️ https://t.co/uJugxDewkL
'The Covid inquiry has brutally exposed the secretive methods of the Scottish Government under Sturgeon's leadership.' @HCH_Hill on the fall of the SNP 👇 https://t.co/3aI3mwuaDx
A majority of Scots no longer trust Nicola Sturgeon, new polling finds. The SNP magic has well and truly gone, writes @HCH_Hill 👇 https://t.co/3aI3mwuaDx