Humza Yousaf accused of 'misleading' Holyrood over Nicola Sturgeon WhatsApp scandal

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Humza Yousaf has been accused of “misleading” Parliament in the wake of the scandal of Nicola Sturgeon deleting her Covid WhatsApp messages.Scots Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the revelation contradicted Yousaf’s claim last year that ‘do not destroy’ notices had been adhered to.Sturgeon is facing a massive backlash after the UK Covid inquiry confirmed she had retained none of her messages during the pandemic.She is facing a potential police complaint and will be quizzed by the media next week if she attends Holyrood.Sarwar raised the issue of data retention with Yousaf in June, asking the First Minister to confirm that all ministers and officials - past and present - had complied with do not destroy instructions.He also asked Yousaf for a ”guarantee” that all requested emails, texts and WhatsApps would be handed over in full.The First Minister replied: “Yes, they will.

It is important that I abide by the rules of the UK public inquiry and the Scottish public inquiry.He added: “To ensure that there is simply no doubt whatsoever, any material that is asked for—WhatsApp messages, emails, Signal messages, Telegram messages or whatever—will absolutely be handed over to the Covid inquiries and handed over to them in full.”In light of the Sturgeon revelations, Sarwar told the BBC: “I think it's also becoming clearer that Humza Yousaf misled Parliament, because he was unequivocal in saying that every single official and minister would fully comply with the do not destroy notices and hand over all information to the inquiry.“That's clearly not happened.

Really, really serious. And I think it goes to the heart of trust, a culture of cover up and secrecy at the heart of this SNP government.”He also said of the WhatsApp row: “There