2. Saturday marks Holocaust memorial day on the theme of “Fragility of Freedom”. It is a day on which we pause, reflect and remember all those who have been victims of genocide, but it is also a moment to pause and reflect on those who still strive to live with peace and dignity, away from conflict, and without prejudice.

What has been revealed at the Covid inquiry this week has rightly shocked people across Scotland. The attempts to subvert the inquiry and to breach freedom of information laws are, frankly, a betrayal of the trust that people put in the Government.

WhatsApp messages were deleted on an industrial scale. The former First Minister used a private Scottish National Party email address for Government business. Officials openly joked about breaking the law while the Covid pandemic tore through our country.

The culture of cover-up started with the First Minister and extended down to the senior civil service. In June, when I asked Humza Yousaf whether

“all requested emails, texts and WhatsApp messages will be handed over in full”—[

Official Report

, 29 June 2023; c 15.]

he responded in this Parliament, without equivocation, “Yes”.

Now that we know that that was not true, was the First Minister knowingly misleading Parliament, or was he so out of his depth that he did not know what was going on?

We did hand over what we had—28,000 messages have been handed over. Officials and former ministers of the Government who do not have WhatsApp messages will have to account for that before the Covid inquiry. Anas Sarwar cannot say that there was deletion “on an industrial scale” when 28,000 messages have been handed over to the inquiry. He cannot say that I have been leading that approach from the top when I have handed over all the WhatsApp messages that I have. No doubt, in a couple of hours’ time, I will be questioned about them.

Anas Sarwar is absolutely right, as is Douglas Ross, to ask questions about our informal communications. There is nothing wrong in that. Frankly, though, I do not believe that the public agree with Anas Sarwar or Douglas Ross when they suggest that there was somehow a cover-up. Why? It is because the public looked at this Government, questioned it and saw that it had a First Minister—Nicola Sturgeon—who stood in front of the cameras every single day—[

Interruption

.]

Where is she now?

The Presiding Officer:

Let us hear the First Minister.

The First Minister:

—and took questions from journalists and members of the Scottish Parliament more than 250 times. That is hardly the measure or the mark of a Government that was trying to avoid scrutiny.

The First Minister must live in a parallel universe. The then First Minister deleted every WhatsApp message; the then Deputy First Minister deleted every WhatsApp message; the then chief medical officer deleted every WhatsApp message; and the then national clinical director deleted every WhatsApp message. If that is not deletion on an industrial scale, I do not know what planet Humza Yousaf lives on.

The First Minister gave an unequivocal commitment to Parliament but, on his watch, ministers and officials failed to comply with “Do not destroy” notices. Key evidence has been deleted, and deliberately misleading statements have been given to the press and the public, on his watch.

One issue that I raised with Humza Yousaf was the use of private SNP email accounts to conduct Scottish Government business, which the Government has repeatedly denied. However, evidence to the inquiry this week has blown that claim out of the water. In November, when I asked Humza Yousaf whether all emails, whether they were from the Government or his party, would be handed to the inquiry, he said this:

“As for any other form of communication, including any other email address ... it is my full expectation that that is handed over.”—[

Official Report

, 9 November 2023; c 17.]

Humza Yousaf is First Minister and leader of the SNP. Have any emails from SNP accounts been handed to the Covid inquiry? If so, how many?

The First Minister:

The fundamental point is that the use of a non-Government email address, such as an SNP email address, does not exempt official correspondence from freedom of information requests. [

Interruption

.] For example, a freedom of information request about a particular issue or for a particular document is not subverted because it is sent to an SNP email address. [

Interruption

.]

Exactly.

The Presiding Officer:

Members!

The First Minister:

Therefore, the information should be handed over. I give an absolute guarantee that no Government business was conducted through my SNP email address. Messages from my private communication applications have been handed over. I have handed over not only WhatsApp messages but private direct messages from my private Twitter account.

As for Government messages, I have made it very clear to every minister, cabinet secretary, permanent secretary and civil servant that, regardless of the method of communication that was used, we must comply with the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011, the freedom of information legislation and our mobile messaging policy.

I go back to the point that I made to Douglas Ross. Regardless of the communication method that is used—whether it be an SNP email address or otherwise—any decisions that are made must be recorded in the corporate record, as must the salient points. We will continue to comply fully with the UK Covid inquiry, as I intend to do in a couple of hours.

Humza Yousaf is meant to be in charge of the Government and his party, but he cannot answer for anybody else in either of those, and he goes back only to his own messages and emails. The issue is not just about the Covid inquiry; it is about how the Government operates. Over the past 17 years in government, the SNP has created a culture of secrecy and cover-up—a culture that goes from the First Minister down.

People in the SNP believe that there is one standard for them and another standard for everyone else—because somehow the rules do not apply to the SNP. They have abused the trust that the people of Scotland put in them. If they will not take my word for it, they should perhaps listen to Caroleanne Stewart of Scottish Covid Bereaved. She said:

“I trusted them, I felt him and Nicola Sturgeon were honest and trying to be open with us, and to find out that was all just a facade, I don’t understand how they can hold their head up high.”

First Minister, how can you expect the people of Scotland to trust you or your party ever again?

The Presiding Officer:

Always speak through the chair, please.

The First Minister:

I will always leave the verdict of trust to the Scottish people. We will comply with the UK inquiry and the Scottish Covid inquiry—which, of course, we instructed. When it comes to transparency, we have handed over 28,000 WhatsApp messages. That is transparency. We have handed over 19,000 documents. That is transparency. When it comes to what the Government has done across a range of portfolios, whether it is about the duty of candour or the patient safety commissioner, that is transparency. When it is about public inquiries and instructing them, that is transparency. When the former First Minister was standing up at more than 250 media conferences, that was transparency. Taking questions in this chamber on multiple occasions—[

Interruption

.]

The Presiding Officer:

Let us hear the First Minister.

The First Minister:

Doing that on dozens of occasions—that is transparency.

I will end where I started—with my response to Douglas Ross. When it comes to families who have been bereaved by Covid, our responsibility, first and foremost, is to them. I can promise them this. I know that, when I appear in front of the inquiry, it will not just want warm words; it will want to see and hear truthful answers to straight questions. That is what I intend to give when I appear in front of the inquiry in a couple of hours’ time.

The Presiding Officer:

Many members wish to put questions today, as you would expect. I would be grateful if we could therefore keep our questions and responses concise.