Scotland ex-leader admits deleting COVID WhatsApp messages but insists no decisions were made on app

A former leader of Scotland has acknowledged that she deleted WhatsApp messages sent during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Nicola Sturgeon insisted that anything of relevance to how policymaking was conducted had been made available for the public record. Sturgeon told the United Kingdom’s public inquiry into the pandemic on Wednesday that she didn’t use informal messaging such as WhatsApp to make decisions. Scotland is part of the U.K. But its government has powers over matters relating to public health. The 53-year-old Sturgeon became first minister in 2014 after Scotland voted to remain part of the U.K. in a referendum and was in office until her surprise resignation in 2023.