Today: 11 July 2025
9 November 2023
2 mins read

Yousaf accused of misleading parliament over WhatsApps

Deputy First Minister Shona Robison published a detailed timeline of events in a written statement to the Scottish Parliament following a request from the UK Covid Inquiry…reports Asian Lite News

Scottish ministers have revealed the Covid Inquiry first asked them for relevant WhatsApp messages nine months ago. The first minister said last week his government was only asked to submit WhatsApp group messages related to the pandemic in September.

Opposition parties have accused Humza Yousaf and his deputy, Shona Robison, of misleading parliament.

The Scottish government said it was co-operating fully with the inquiry.

Deputy First Minister Shona Robison published a detailed timeline of events in a written statement to the Scottish Parliament following a request from the UK Covid Inquiry.

The Scottish government said that privacy concerns meant it required a formal request under Section 21 of the Inquiries Act 2005 before it was able to submit more than 14,000 messages by a 6 November deadline.

This “corporate” submission did not include minister-to-minister conversations and was restricted to conversations of three or more people involving at least one civil servant. The Scottish government said Mr Yousaf made his final submission to the UK inquiry on Monday. It is understood to run to around 100 pages.

He has also handed over Covid WhatsApp messages which he is said to have retrieved from an old phone handset.

Yousaf said previously that when the inquiry asked in June for details of the WhatsApp groups, it did not request the messages themselves. In response to a question from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar last week, he said: “It is crucial to say that, when the UK government inquiry asked us in June for details of the various WhatsApp groups concerning Covid-19, it did not request the messages themselves.

“The messages were asked for in September, just a matter of weeks ago. The Scottish government then asked for a Section 21 order because of the personal information in some of those messages, and that was received. Now, of course, we will meet the deadline of 6 November to hand over 14,000 messages in unredacted form.”

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said: “It’s clear that the first minister and deputy first minister misled parliament last week when they claimed that ministers were only asked to hand over WhatsApp messages in the last few weeks.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said the newly-published timeline contradicted their statements. “The only thing clearer is the extent to which this shambolic government has lost control trying to cover up the truth and obstruct those seeking it,” she said. “It begs the question, what do they have to hide? “Meanwhile the public are no clearer on who has complied with the do not destroy order and how many senior ministers and officials deleted messages.”

ALSO READ-Scotland’s first minister Sturgeon resigns

Previous Story

US Senate Democrats push Biden on Israel

Next Story

US Senator Says Gaza Civilian Toll ‘Too High’

Latest from -Top News

Masdar powers ahead in UK

€15 billion clean energy alliance powers ahead with East Anglia THREE investment and Baltic Eagle energisation….reports Asian Lite News Masdar, the UAE-based global clean energy powerhouse, and Iberdrola, one of the world’s

Indian Doctor Gets Top Sharjah Award

The award was presented by His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah. In a moment of immense pride for the Indian diaspora, renowned paediatrician-turned-entrepreneur Dr.

Peace talks in the desert

President H.H. Sheikh Mohamed reiterated the UAE’s unwavering support for initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable peace, dialogue, and development in the South Caucasus. He also applauded the willingness of the Armenian and

World’s energy thirst to grow: OPEC

UAE sticks to 5 million bpd oil output goal as OPEC launches new World Oil Outlook at Vienna seminar…reports Asian Lite News Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Petroleum

Red Sea Warzone

Iran-backed rebels intensify maritime assaults in support of Gaza; US and EU condemn abductions, Israel intercepts missile….reports Asian Lite News The Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have stepped up their maritime offensive in the
Go toTop

Don't Miss

WhatsApp services restored after global outage

Those attempting to access the app or its web version

WhatsApp banned 3.7 mn accounts in India in Nov

WhatsApp is an industry leader in preventing abuse, among end-to-end