UK Covid Inquiry: John Swinney messages to Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf deleted ‘manually’, inquiry hears

Swinney and Forbes latest to give evidence ahead of appearance by Sturgeon on Wednesday

John Swinney “manually” deleted messages between himself, Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf in a practice which could date back to 2007, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has heard.

The former deputy first minister said he rarely spoke to his former boss Ms Sturgeon via text messages or other informal means, saying texts were generally only used to set up a phone call.

These messages, he told the inquiry, were deleted in accordance with Scottish Government guidance.

Former deputy first minister John Swinney giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry hearing at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre which is exploring core UK decision-making and political governance. Photo: UK Covid-19 Inquiry/PA Wire

With the current occupant of Bute House, however, the inquiry heard there were some 18 pages of WhatsApp messages between the two men.

Mr Swinney had deleted the messages, which were recovered from an old handset of Mr Yousaf’s and subsequently submitted to the inquiry.

The former deputy first minister – who also held roles overseeing education, Covid recovery and finance in his time in Government – defended his lack of retention of messages, which he said was in line with guidance from the Scottish Government, issued in 2021.

He also added that he had held the same deletion practice since becoming a