Jason Leitch deleted Covid WhatsApp messages - newspaper report

Jason Leitch helped lead the Scottish government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic

Electronic messages sent by a leading figure in Scotland's fight against Covid have been deleted, according to a newspaper report.

The Times says national clinical director Jason Leitch deleted his messages every day during the pandemic.

It means the messages cannot be handed to the UK or Scottish inquiries into how Covid was handled.

Prof Leitch, who was a high-profile figure during the pandemic, has been contacted for comment.

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The Scottish government said it had been asked by the UK Covid-19 inquiry to provide all material related to decision making.

A spokesperson said: "It is not the culture within Scottish government to use WhatsApp for decision making - our records management policy states clearly that government decisions should be recorded in the official record.

"The UK inquiry has that material from the official record."

The spokesperson said the inquiry had requested WhatsApp messages relating to logistics and day-to-day communication, which the Scottish government would provide.

"However, given the level of personal information contained within, we need a legal basis to do so, for example in the form of a section 21 order," they added.

The allegations in the Times came shortly after the Scottish government was accused of not handing over WhatsApp messages to the UK Covid inquiry.

Jamie Dawson KC, the counsel to the inquiry, said it was "surprising" that so many messages from politicians and officials had been deleted.

Mr Dawson believes that WhatsApp and other messaging systems appear to have been used to send messages relating to and surrounding key decisions by some members of the Scottish government, the "majority of the messages have not been retained by witnesses".

First Minister Humza Yousaf said he took Mr Dawson's comments "very seriously" and would investigate.

He also pledged that "all relevant information" of any type will be handed over.

However, Scottish Labour have called for an investigation into a potential breach of the Ministerial Code by Mr Yousaf over comments made at First Minister's Questions in June.

At the session, the first minister said the Scottish government had a "long-standing policy on retention" of documents and written correspondence including email and social media messages.

Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie wrote to Mr Yousaf saying the allegations over WhatApp message deletions suggest that the first minister's statement was not accurate and he may have misled parliament.

Ms Baillie also called for a guarantee that findings of an investigation into Prof Leitch's compliance with a "do not destroy" order are made public.

The Scottish Conservatives said that ministers must "come clean" over whether they deleted messages relevant to the UK Covid Inquiry.

Scottish Conservative chief whip Alexander Burnett MSP, claimed there was a "rotten culture of secrecy" within the Scottish government.

He added: "There are grieving families at the heart of this, who deserve to know if and why crucial messages were deleted, because that would undoubtedly hinder the work of the inquiry."

Jamie Dawson KC said it was "surprising" that so many messages from politicians were deleted

The UK Covid inquiry is investigating the UK's response to and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a Scottish inquiry also now under way that is specifically looking at decisions taken by the Scottish government.

The Scottish Covid inquiry issued orders last year telling participants not to destroy electronic messages.

Former SNP health secretary, Alex Neil, has called for clarity on the use of WhatsApp within government

He told BBC Scotland that many government ministers "don't fully understand the rules".

Mr Neil, who was in the role from 2012 to 2014, said Mr Yousaf should ask the information commissioner to ensure that ministers are either prevented from using the app, or have to copy in their private office for government business.

And defending the national clinical director, Mr Neil added: "I don't think Jason Leitch should be hung out to dry for what's a systemic fault in the way the Scottish government's been run."

Meanwhile, Margaret Waterton from the Scottish Covid Bereaved Group told BBC Scotland's The Nine it was "incredulous" that potentially important WhatsApp message had been deleted.

Speaking before the news about Prof Leitch, she said she was "devastated" by reports that messages had been deleted.

"For the Scottish government to say they have deleted messages, they have not made notes at the most crucial of times when having sat in a meeting with the previous deputy first minister, alongside some of my Scottish Covid Bereaved colleagues and our legal representative - Mr Swinney may not have made notes but the civil servants surrounding him certainly did," she said.

"It is beyond belief that in the most crucial of times there would be no note taking. I'm devastated by it.

"We were promised a robust inquiry, absolutely leaving no stone unturned."

She added: "We want justice, we want truth and we want accountability - and in order to achieve those things we must have this information brought forward so the inquiry can be as robust as possible."

A lawyer for the UK-wide Covid inquiry has said it was "surprising" that so many Scottish government WhatsApp messages from the period of the pandemic appear to no longer exist.

And now The Times is reporting that Prof Jason Leitch was one of the officials who deleted such messages.

Prof Leitch became something of a household name during the pandemic. He was a regular figure by Nicola Sturgeon's side at Covid briefings, explaining the science behind decisions.

He was widely praised for his communication skills. But, according to The Times, some of his own electronic communications were deleted daily.

Scottish government insiders are keen to stress that decisions were not made over WhatsApp.

There may have been discussions over the app, but they say that would then have to be formalised through official government channels.

But if some of these messages no longer exist, then that's not something any Covid inquiry will be able to judge for itself.