Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes announced the government's response in a speech to the Scottish ParliamentDeputy First Minister Kate Forbes made the announcement in response an external review into the use of messaging services.
She said the use of WhatsApp or any other "non-corporate" messaging services for government business would end from spring next year. Forbes said ministers and staff should use corporate-approved apps, such as Teams and email, for official business.The deputy first minister told parliament the use of WhatsApp and other messaging apps during the pandemic was "understandable in such pressing times".
Scottish Conservative MSP Sandesh Gulhane said the announcement was a "clear admission" that what ministers and officials did during the pandemic was wrong.Gulhane also accused ministers of breaking the ministerial code by failing to give advance sight of the statement. The Scottish government's policy required ministers and officials to transcribe "salient" points from business discussions on mobile messaging apps
Sturgeon and Swinney were accused of "industrial scale" deletion of messages by opposition parties but said any "salient" points were recorded on the corporate record and only informal messages were deleted.