Covid: Drakeford refuses to answer WhatsApp questions

Mark Drakeford said he would answer such questions at the Covid inquiry

Mark Drakeford repeatedly refused to answer questions in the Senedd on Tuesday about the use of WhatsApps during the pandemic.

The outgoing first minister was asked about the use of the app by himself, and the deletion of messages by other officials.

But Mr Drakeford said he would not offer a "preview" of what he will say at the Covid Inquiry next week.

The Senedd's Tories and Plaid Cymru accused him of dodging scrutiny.

The inquiry heard last week claims that Mr Drakeford regularly used the app. He had previously said he used the Meta-owned system "very little".

Mr Drakeford had to correct the Senedd's record last year after he said said he did not use WhatsApp. He later admitted it was installed on his Senedd phone.

The inquiry had heard on Monday that Welsh government staff had been told not to use WhatsApp for government business.

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The issue of whether WhatsApp messages have been retained has been controversial throughout the inquiry.

Former health minister Vaughan Gething and other special advisers have been accused of deleting messages, in inquiry hearings.

Mr Gething and senior adviser to Mr Drakeford Jane Runeckles were both said to have used a function that makes messages disappear after a certain time, which was introduced to WhatsApp in November 2020.

Mr Drakeford was claimed to have been regularly using WhatsApp to discuss policy announcements and seek clarification on the rules.

In First Minister's Questions on Tuesday, Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies asked Mr Drakeford to confirm if he did use WhatsApp "as in the evidence that was put to the Covid inquiry, in particular, when it came to policy and rule decisions?"

"I will pay the inquiry the respect I think it believes, and I will give my answers to them as a witness," Mr Drakeford replied.

'Perfectly legitimate'

Mr Davies protested: "It is perfectly legitimate to come to this parliament and seek that clarification from the head of the government when that information is already in the public domain."

He asked the same question again, but Mr Drakeford said he had "nothing to add" to his previous clarification on his comments in the Senedd from last November.

The senior Conservative sought support from the presiding officer to get an answer from Mr Drakeford, but Elin Jones, also know as the Llywydd, said the content of Mr Drakeford's answers "was not a matter for me".

Mr Davies pointed out that Mr Drakeford was stepping down in two weeks time, and said it was a "damning indictment of Welsh democracy".

He asked another question about whether Mr Drakeford was aware that special advisers were deleting messages, but Mr Drakeford again refused to answer.

The use of WhatsApps has been controversial throughout the inquiry

Mr Davies made a comment to the first minister that was not clearly recorded by Senedd microphones - the BBC was told by sources he had suggested to Mr Drakeford he had a problem with the truth.

The first minister told Mr Davies he "could not tell him the contempt I feel for a person who sits there and uses words like that to me".

"I answer his questions truthfully every single week, and I will answer the questions truthfully in front of the inquiry."

Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru, said it was "our duty as parliamentarians to hold government and the first minister to account".

He said the inquiry had heard that the first minister's chief special adviser has instructed ministers to clear out WhatsApp messages once a week, seven months after an email was sent reminding staff to preserve records for any future inquiry.

He asked Mr Drakeford if he would concede that deleting messages was in breach of the government's own rules - but the first minister refused to answer again. "I'm not going to offer a preview of the questions that I will be asked as a witness to the inquiry."

Mr ap Iorwerth asked a further question about whether the first minister believed cabinet colleagues were on top of their briefs at the start of the pandemic, but Mr Drakeford again declined.

What has been said about WhatsApps at the inquiry?

Former permanent secretary Shan Morgan told the inquiry on Monday that she had deleted messages early in the pandemic, although she said her conversations had been preserved by others.

She told the inquiry that it would not have been in line with Welsh government policies for messages to be deleted.

A notice had been circulated in January 2020 in the Welsh government that WhatsApp did not allow the Welsh government to comply with its legal responsibilities and could not be used for government business.

The app is banned from Welsh government phones, but not on phones given to Members of the Senedd by the Welsh Parliament.

The inquiry also heard concerns from a civil servant in October 2020 that staff in the Welsh government felt "pressurised by line managers" to breach the policy, using WhatsApp for work business on personal devices.

Speaking after the session in the Senedd Mr Davies said: "The first minister has been all over the place on the use of WhatsApp messages during Covid, and his attempt to dodge scrutiny today is frankly an insult to people who lost loved ones during the pandemic."

Mr ap Iorwerth said: "The Labour Welsh government is developing a growing reputation for running away from scrutiny."